{"id":583664,"date":"2026-04-14T13:10:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T13:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/583664\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T13:10:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T13:10:14","slug":"witch-ripper-through-the-hourglass-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/583664\/","title":{"rendered":"Witch Ripper – Through the Hourglass Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Few things at AMG Industries make us prouder than watching bands once scrutinized under AMG\u2019s Unsigned Band Rode\u00f6 move on to greener pastures. In 2013, Seattle\u2019s Witch Ripper endured our time\u2011honored hazing ritual<\/a>, earning universally positive marks with their groovy, sludgy self-titled EP. Despite that early promise, lineup changes derailed the efforts of Curtis Parker (ex-Iron Thrones<\/a>) and company for six years. Their patience finally paid off with debut LP, Homestead, in 2018 and with a solidified lineup, Witch Ripper continued to build momentum with their acclaimed sophomore record, The Flight After the Fall. Where Witch Ripper and Homestead captured the quartet at their heaviest and most sludge\u2011soaked, Through the Hourglass finds Witch Ripper finally hitting their stride, continuing their evolution toward melody, atmosphere, and emotional contour.<\/p>\n

Picking up The Flight After the Fall\u2019s narrative threads, Through the Hourglass leans into more hooks and musicality rather than sheer weight, all while staying within relatively traditional song structures. Operating at the nexus between modern Mastodon<\/a>, Baroness<\/a> and Anciients<\/a>, Chad Fox\u2019s and Curtis Parker\u2019s guitars shift from rock chugs to swirling melodicism (\u201cEchoes and Dust\u201d), sparkling arpeggios (\u201cThe Portal\u201d), bluesy refrains, and expressive solos (\u201cThe Spiral Eye\u201d) as the duo assumes joint vocal duties with bassist Brian Kim. There\u2019s a classic\u2011rock warmth woven through the riffs, and the foursome has trimmed some of the fat from earlier releases in favor of cuts with tighter runtimes and more focused, purposeful songwriting. Drummer Joe Eck is a force, adding battle\u2011tom flourishes (\u201cSymmetry of the Hourglass\u201d), shifting snare rolls, and polyrhythmic accents (\u201cEchoes and Dust\u201d) that elevate even the simplest riffs. Through the Hourglass doesn\u2019t reinvent Witch Ripper\u2019s sound so much as refine the traits they\u2019ve been cultivating all along.<\/p>\n

Through The Hourglass by Witch Ripper<\/a><\/p>\n

Naturally extending its lineage that first emerged on The Flight After the Fall, Through the Hourglass carries forward similar melodic instincts and structural tendencies while still nodding to the heavier, riff\u2011driven roots of their early days. Once the unnecessary intro \u201cOdyssey in Retrograde\u201d fades, lead single \u201cThe Portal\u201d sets the tone with Witch Ripper\u2019s familiar blend of rock\u2011leaning riffs and soaring melodies, acting as a foundational bridge between records and serving as a proper setup to \u201cSymmetry of the Hourglass,\u201d a killer track that displays every strength Witch Ripper brings to the table. Its anthemic chorus, soulful, bluesy solo, and fully dialed-in songwriting keep circling back to its best ideas. Even a messy instrumental section in the second verse doesn\u2019t stop my head from bobbing throughout. \u201cEchoes and Dust\u201d pushes these ingredients even further, pairing a fat modern\u2011rock groove with arpeggiated heft and high\u2011energy drumming at the record\u2019s apex to drive the quartet\u2019s best song to date. The record\u2019s more experimental turns, like the somber Alice in Chains\u2011tinged ballad \u201cProxima Centauri,\u201d or Irene Barber\u2019s (Dust Moth) ethereal choral chants on \u201cThe Spiral Eye,\u201d feel like natural extensions of the spacey, post\u2011rock textures they\u2019ve flirted with before, even if the latter and \u201cThe Clock Queen\u201d occasionally drift into repetition.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Fox\u2019s singing and Parker\u2019s sustained growls both sound more confident on Through the Hourglass, balancing each other capably while shaping the album\u2019s expressive landscape. On earlier records, clean vocals were sparse-to-nonexistent, serving more as atmospheric color than a defining feature. Through the Hourglass places them front and center, taking control of Witch Ripper\u2019s modern identity. Fox\u2019s bright, emotionally charged vocal lines set the stage, with vibrato\u2011heavy phrases that sound strikingly expressive\u2014particularly on tracks like \u201cProxima Centauri\u201d and \u201cSymmetry of the Hourglass\u201d\u2014yet also have a tendency to strain occasionally on higher notes (\u201cThe Clock Queen,\u201d \u201cThe Portal\u201d). Still, it\u2019s an apt choice given how it elevates the material. And when it\u2019s paired with Parker\u2019s corroded roars, the combination creates a striking contrast that lifts the airy choruses higher even as the harsher tones periodically threaten to overpower them.<\/p>\n

Witch Ripper has come a long way since initially grabbing the bull by the horns. Despite some uneven moments, Through the Hourglass shows Witch Ripper has grown more confident, more expressive, and more capable of balancing heaviness with melody in ways that feel both natural and earned. It confirms the band\u2019s arrival after years of growth and recalibration, distilling the group\u2019s evolution into a compelling, emotionally charged chapter that signals these Northwesterners have stepped fully into their identity. It\u2019s a milestone that suggests Witch Ripper\u2019s time has only just begun.<\/p>\n

Rating: Very Good
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb\/s mp3
Label: Magnetic Eye Records<\/a>
Websites: witchripper.bandcamp.com<\/a> | facebook.com\/Witchripper<\/a>
Releases Worldwide: April 10th, 2026<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Few things at AMG Industries make us prouder than watching bands once scrutinized under AMG\u2019s Unsigned Band Rode\u00f6…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":583665,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[54639,12018,121796,9673,145809,248509,112343,255618,88,255619,145814,3468,216,39175,899,900,114683,20799,255620,255621],"class_list":{"0":"post-583664","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-54639","9":"tag-3-5","10":"tag-alice-in-chains","11":"tag-american-metal","12":"tag-anciients","13":"tag-apr26","14":"tag-baroness","15":"tag-dust-moth","16":"tag-entertainment","17":"tag-iron-thrones","18":"tag-magnetic-eye-records","19":"tag-mastodon","20":"tag-music","21":"tag-progressive-metal","22":"tag-review","23":"tag-reviews","24":"tag-sludge","25":"tag-stoner-metal","26":"tag-through-the-hourglass","27":"tag-witch-ripper"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=583664"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583664\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/583665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=583664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=583664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=583664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}