{"id":347576,"date":"2026-03-25T19:45:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T19:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/347576\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T19:45:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T19:45:08","slug":"hellripper-coronach-review-angry-metal-guy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/347576\/","title":{"rendered":"Hellripper – Coronach Review | Angry Metal Guy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Tired? Irritable? Prone to bouts of melancholy that leave you feeling listless and unfocused, particularly as the weather changes? It could be seasonal affective disorder, but these symptoms can also typify a diet deficient in vitamin R(iff). If it\u2019s the latter, Hellripper\u2019s Coronach practically hemorrhages the cure for what ails you, parading pulse-pounding riffs, blistering solos, and enthralling grooves with palliative nonchalance. Unleashing Hellripper\u2019s fourth album in under a decade, architect and sole member James McBain maintains a tried-and-true release schedule and, more importantly, a steady evolution of sophisticated songwriting that\u2019s as compelling as it is emboldening. I won\u2019t mince words\u2014Coronach is an undeniable corker and succeeds as Hellripper\u2019s greatest triumph to date. So run down to your local or digital dealer and grab some Coronach posthaste!<\/p>\n

Expanding on the achievements of Hellripper\u2019s previous albums, Coronach harnesses the charm of earlier releases and injects them with a lethal dose of vitality. Back in 2017, debut Coagulating Darkness bled its influences on its sleeve, from riffs dripping with warp-speed Venom to the guitar lead from \u201cBastard of Hades\u201d pulled straight from Metallica\u2019s \u201cHit the Lights.\u201d The Affair of the Poisons<\/a> shaped Hellripper\u2019s identity with flurries of licks that, while still laced with influences, exuded a welcome dimension of originality. Three years ago, Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags<\/a>\u2019 introduced knotted, longer-form compositions that pushed out the runtime while augmenting Hellripper\u2019s arsenal of aural ammunition. With Coronach, Hellripper strikes a balance between the lengthier arrangements of Warlocks and the breakneck blackened bangers of yore, amplified by stellar performances throughout.<\/p>\n

\ufeffCoronach (24-bit HD audio) by Hellripper<\/a><\/p>\n

Coronach overflows with electrifying instrumentation, and while McBain supplies most of Hellripper\u2019s sonic ingredients, a few guests further enrich its proceedings. Searing leads and scorching solos set Coronach\u2019s eight tracks aflame, boasting some of the hookiest guitar-playing I\u2019ve heard this year. \u201cHunderprest\u201d and \u201cBlakk Satanik Fvkkstorm\u201d crackle with flashy fretwork, buoyed by longtime six-string contributor Joseph Quinlan (Desert Heretic). Similarly, \u201cKinchyle (Goatkraft and Granite)\u201d rumbles with snappy Mot\u00f6rhead<\/a>strong riffs before an acoustic guitar cuts in to transition the song into slinky grooves and heavy half-times. After some interplay, the pace ramps back up to close out on the intro riff. Hellripper has never lacked for earworms, yet Coronach unveils a mature understanding of dynamic songwriting that endows depth and complexity while never sounding forced or unnatural. Besides Quinlan, Jess Townsend contributes violin on \u201cBaobhan Sith (Waltz of the Damned),\u201d while singer Marianne returns to lend her vocals on a few tracks and Antonio Rodriguez reprises the bagpipes on closer \u201cCoronach.\u201d Vacuous<\/a>\u2019s Max Southall even bestows some percussive flair on \u201cMortercheyn.\u201d Between himself and the talented musicians he\u2019s assembled, it\u2019s clear that while McBain is comfortable with his supporting cast, he\u2019s determined not to put out the same album twice.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What impresses me most with Coronach is that McBain manages to broaden Hellripper\u2019s auditory palette without ever losing the band\u2019s core identity. \u201cHunderprest\u201d and \u201cCoronach\u201d brim with the band\u2019s trademark rippin\u2019 riffs, yet the solos recall southern rock shredding \u00e0 la Lynyrd Skynyrd or The Outlaws played at one-and-a-half speed. \u201cSculptor\u2019s Cave,\u201d meanwhile, channels what El Cuervo affectionately dubbed \u2018Mot\u00f6rhead on cocaine\u2019 energy during its \u201cRock \u2018n\u2019 Roll\u201d-informed solo. A pervasive punk attitude also shimmers beneath the surface of Coronach, where the unadorned guitar refrains from \u201cKinchyle (Goatkraft and Granite),\u201d \u201cSculptor\u2019s Cave,\u201d and \u201cMortercheyn\u201d evoke more technical versions of Bad Religion and The Offspring. Tying it all together and allowing the myriad influences to coalesce, the mix ensures this is the best Hellripper has sounded, retaining their raw edge while dialing back the \u2018everything louder than everything else\u2019 approach that afflicted past albums\u2014The Affair of the Poisons in particular.<\/p>\n

Doubtlessly, Hellripper has dropped their finest release so far with Coronach, though a few small adjustments could have boosted it to undisputed excellence. \u201cBaobhan Sith (Waltz of the Damned)\u201d runs a tad too long, and although I like \u201cMortercheyn,\u201d it doesn\u2019t quite live up to the heights of the other tracks. Even so, I unapologetically return to Coronach again and again with no signs of slowing down. Just remember\u2014Coronach must be taken while driving or operating heavy machinery. If lethargy creeps in or your mouth runs dry from a chronic deficit of Vitamin R, just take one to two doses of Coronach (by ear) and wait for Hellripper\u2019s restorative fix to kick in.<\/p>\n

Rating: Great!!
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Century Media Records<\/a>
Websites: Website<\/a> | Bandcamp<\/a> | Facebook<\/a>
Releases Worldwide: March 27th, 2026<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tired? Irritable? Prone to bouts of melancholy that leave you feeling listless and unfocused, particularly as the weather…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":347577,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[2246,18328,184775,842,140582,184776,184777,156,156384,184778,170095,4938,82313,157,111,139,69,762,763,87127,82315,184779,184780,38419,184781,48829],"class_list":["post-347576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-2246","tag-4-0","tag-bad-religion","tag-black-metal","tag-century-media-records","tag-coronach","tag-desert-heretic","tag-entertainment","tag-hellripper","tag-lynyrd-skynyrd","tag-mar26","tag-metallica","tag-motorhead","tag-music","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-review","tag-reviews","tag-scottish-metal","tag-speed-metal","tag-the-offspring","tag-the-outlaws","tag-thrash-metal","tag-vacuous","tag-venom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=347576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347576\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/347577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=347576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=347576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=347576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}