Hellripper - Coronach

Release Date: March 27th 2026

Label: Century Media

Get your denim, get your leather, get your spikes, and your bullet belts! The new Hellripper album, Coronach, fucking rips. Blackened Speed Metal coming at you from Scotland with enough grooves to get the punks two-stepping and the riffs and solos that are hot enough to melt even Zakk Wylde’s face off. Coronach, released March 27th, is the 4th full length album from James McBain, the mastermind behind Hellripper, whose output easily puts him up next to the very best in the one man band category.

Kinchyle (Goatkraft and Granite), Blakk Satanik Fvkkstorm (there’s those fucking “v”’s again!) and Sculptor’s Cave are my favorite songs off the album. These are the shorter tracks on the album and they definitely lean more into the speed metal/punk and riff focused category which is where I think Hellripper shine the most. This is an evil sounding record, the guitar tones and pure speed enforce the Satanik Fvkkstorm that Hellripper bring to the table with each release. 

Where Coronach falls short for me is when it dips its toes a bit more into the proggy waters. It’s not overly much, but enough for me to notice, which distracts me from the classic metal, Motörhead inspired, blackened speed thrash attack. Don’t get me wrong, it’s done very well and I love prog stuff of course. It’s not my main listen, but Maiden get proggy, Opeth obviously, those are two of my favorite bands! For what Hellripper is doing, in my opinion, MORE MOTÖRHEAD! Each Hellripper release has been 8 songs (save for the comp). Only the last 2 releases have gone over the 29 minute mark, with Coronach sitting at 44 minutes. While I do enjoy this album start to finish, I think the sweet spot for me with Hellripper would be between 25-35 minutes. I need that quick, fast riffing attack that leaves me foaming at the mouth to come back and get my face shredded along with the guitar strings. This goes overtime just a bit for me.

I’ll never not love a Hellripper record. That would be highly unlikely. Coronach is Hellripper pushing the envelope with what this band does best, and then pushing a little further. It’s a (hell)ripper of a record with the staying power I’m sure will last the rest of the year (and far after that!) to wind up on many album of the year lists! Check this shit out, ready yourself for some satanik head banging! (Dope album art too by the way.)

Score: 8.5/10