It’s 2026 and the one-man Metal project of James McBain, Hellripper, returns with new album, Coronach, and delivers what may be the most fully realised statement of his career so far. Following the ambitious 2023 album, Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags, this new album doesn’t just refine the project’s signature Blackened Thrash attack; it expands it into something far more nuanced, textured, atmospheric, and distinctly rooted in Scottish identity.
At its dark Scottish heart, Coronach is still driven by the same ferocious aggression that defined the band’s earlier releases. The blistering speed, razor-sharp riffing, and ripping attitude are all still here, and tracks like Blakk Satanik Fvkkstorm and Mortechyn hit with just the right kind of intensity that fans have come to expect, but what sets this album apart from what has come before is how confidently McBain counters the chaos with more measured, mid-paced passages and dynamic shifts, giving the record a real sense of flow and musical maturity that earlier releases occasionally lacked. Indeed, one of the major strengths of the album lies in this broadened musical palette; while it still channels the spirit of genre pioneers such as Venom, and the aggression and intensity of 80s Thrash is still very much in evidence, it also manages to weave in elements of traditional Heavy Metal, at times Punk, and there are even subtle melodic flourishes, making it a much more complete and sophisticated listen.
Perhaps the most distinctive element of Coronach however, is its thematic grounding in Scottish folklore and history; embedding its aggression within a landscape of misty glens, haunted battlefields and standing stones wrapped in ancient legend and ritual. And this is more than simply “aesthetic window dressing”, it gives the album a real sense of, even a “spirit” of place, a Genius Loci if you will, that elevates it beyond the band’s previous releases and for me places it adjacent to the work of another true Caledonian Metal band, Saor. The title track, Coronach, encapsulates this evolution perfectly. The word itself refers to a traditional Celtic “cry for the dead” and underscores this album’s darker, and more reflective nature, yet despite the track’s relentless energy, it somehow manages to seem expansive and dramatic; pushing beyond the band’s previous constraints and incorporating haunting melodies and an almost “cinematic” structure. It’s a bold move, but it succeeds, leaving the listener with a lasting impression and maybe hinting at even greater ambitions for the future.
Production and musicianship is as always excellent, with some of the soloing in particular standing out, and at times and injecting a surprising sense of Classic Rock swagger into an otherwise savage framework.If there’s any criticism to be made, it’s that the album could at times for some listeners feel overwhelming in both its intensity and its brooding atmosphere; the constant barrage of riffing and musical aggression rarely lets up, but for me this relentless energy is precisely the point. Coronach succeeds because it doesn’t abandon what has, for over a decade, made Hellripper compelling, it simply builds on this and expands it.
This is an album that feels both like an ending and a beginning; the turning of a page or the closing of a chapter. For fans of Blackened Thrash, or any other sub-genre of Extreme Metal for that matter, this album is not just a strong release, it’s a defining one, and I for one can’t wait to see where this band goes in the future.
Rating: 9/10 – Excellent
Wayne McAloon | Now Spinning Magazine
