{"id":98093,"date":"2023-02-17T00:00:51","date_gmt":"2023-02-17T00:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=98093"},"modified":"2023-02-28T11:32:26","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28T11:32:26","slug":"album-review-hellripper-warlocks-grim-and-withered-hags","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-hellripper-warlocks-grim-and-withered-hags\/","title":{"rendered":"HELLRIPPER – Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags (2023) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

HELLRIPPER
Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nPeaceville (2023)<\/span>
Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\n\n
<\/td>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Having followed young Scotsman James McBain since his 2015 debut EP The Manifestation Of Evil<\/em> it\u2019s fair to say he has come a long way. Eight years after that impressive snap to the system McBain has been involved in numerous split projects, released two full-lengths previous to this one and a handful of singles too.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s a busy chap who remains at the forefront when it comes to fusing black metal and speed metal, but what is clear with this third release is how he has matured musically and has become unafraid to experiment within the structures he\u2019s assembled since his inception.<\/p>\n

Of course, you still get raked by the vicious and often stark black metal saps, but from the off here McBain showcases his technical abilities alongside diversity as \u2018The Nuckelalvee\u2019 (a demonic creature from Orcadian folklore) spits and rages like classic UK thrashers Sabbat. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m getting here; strong esoteric whiffs drenched in lore but with enough zip and vim, and yet without resorting to some of the comfort zone material of previous outings.<\/p>\n

Nowhere is such musical meanderings more apparent than on epic trudges of the title track which is streaked with blackened melody and armed with a Euro Goth march only matched by its bomastic chanted chorus. Elsewhere, \u2018Mester Stoor Worm\u2019 is another bewitching and grandiose statement; an eight-minute composition of varying guises but essentially streaked by what has become Hellripper\u2019s signature sneer and snarl.<\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s not all high n\u2019 mighty. Tracks such as \u2018The Hissing Marshes\u2019, \u2018Goat Vomit Nightmare\u2019 and \u2018Poison Womb (The Curse Of The Witch)\u2019 is Hellripper reverting back to type; short snaps of black speed metal that countless acts have puked out before. But having said that, as an album, Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags<\/em> remains Hellripper\u2019s most flexible, even through all the countless nods to old Venom, Slayer<\/a>, Metallica, Sabbat and of course those Teutonic titans.<\/p>\n

This is a record that tells stories and causes whiplash, but its finest moments are its lengthier tracks which exhibit a strong sense of development and depth, and above all they hint at greater journeys to come for James McBain. As always, it remains a joy to follow this man and Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags<\/em> \u2013 in spite of its dips \u2013 provides enough yarn spilling and versatility to keep one entertained on foggy nights.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HELLRIPPERWarlocks Grim & Withered Hags Peaceville (2023)Rating: 8\/10 Having followed young Scotsman James McBain since his 2015 debut EP The Manifestation Of Evil it\u2019s fair to say he has come a long way. Eight years after that impressive snap to the system McBain has been involved in numerous split projects, released two full-lengths previous to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,3491],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-hellripper"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98093"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98093\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98095,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98093\/revisions\/98095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}