Hellripper - Coronach [LP]

Format: LP
Catalogue No.: 19802986651
Barcode: 0198029866513
Release Date: 27 Mar 2026
Genre: Metal

From the moment that Hellripper burst into the metal world’s simmering consciousness back in 2014, the speed metal throne was destined to be conquered. Containing 8 new songs across 44 minutes, the highly anticipated 4th album “Coronach” reaches new levels of incisive, metallic intensity for the Scottish blackened speed metal threat. Bolder, braver and more adventurous than ever before, Hellripper are built for speed and ablaze with infernal glory! “Coronach” is available as CD, 180g. LP and as Digital Album. Don’t miss Hellripper’s European headlining tour with Schizophrenia and Sarcator in March/April…All hail the goat!

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From the moment that Hellripper burst into the metal world’s simmering consciousness back in 2014, the speed metal throne was destined to be conquered. Conceived and executed by young Scotsman James McBain, the band’s debut EP – The Manifestation Of Evil – laid down a blueprint for the subgenre’s evolution, bringing grit and intelligence to an unfussy combination of Venom-style black metal and blistering, blackened rock ‘n’ roll. Over a decade on, McBain’s creative urges have taken Hellripper to unexpected heights. 

“When I started Hellripper, the goal was to release one EP with the hope that a few people in my local scene at the time would enjoy it,” he recalls. “It’s safe to say it’s gone further than I ever imagined, and I have no intention of stopping! I love what I do, and I appreciate the support from the fans so much. It means a lot to hear that the music I create at home resonates with people.”

Now widely acknowledged as chief standard bearers for blackened thrash, Hellripper will release their first album for Century Media in 2026, the mighty Coronach. McBain has meticulously nurtured his band’s career over the last decade, releasing a succession of critically acclaimed records that skilfully dragged the Scots’ old school sensibilities kicking and howling into the future. 

From the nascent malevolence and four-to-the-floor fury of debut Coagulating Darkness in 2017, to the remorseless power and pugnacity of The Affair Of The Poisons, released in 2020, and on to the all-encompassing Highland hostility of 2023’s magnificent Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags, Hellripper have continued to fly the flag for metal’s dirtiest division, while expanding his vision to include all manner of brave and bold embellishments. On his fourth full-length, McBain goes for broke. Solely created by the man himself, Coronach is Hellripper’s visceral but vital sound rendered in eye-frying, widescreen thrash-o-vision.

“The writing and recording process was similar to how I’ve always done it,” he says. “It was put together in my studio at home, just when inspiration struck or when I got the urge to record something! As time passes, my musical influences become broader and I think that as I improve as a songwriter and gain more experience, I’m able to incorporate a lot of these influences into the music of Hellripper without watering the sound down. It keeps things interesting for me at least and keeps me inspired. Of course, there is a ‘core’ Hellripper sound, and I don’t want to deviate from that too much, but I also don’t want to repeat myself.”

Fuelled by a sizeable uptick in live performances, and buoyed by the ecstatic reaction to Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags, Hellripper reach new levels of incisive, metallic intensity on Coronach. True to McBain’s original philosophy, but bolder, braver and more adventurous than ever before, the new album is fully of highly evolved speed metal anthems that demand much more from themselves than just furious D-beats and squealing solos. 

“You can still expect an abundance of speed metal and a whole lot of rock ‘n’ roll, but there’s some post-punk influence there, there’s some progressive influence there and there’s a substantial death metal influence too,” explains McBain. “For the first time, I experimented with piano, synthesiser, celesta, cello and violin, and there are some bagpipes present too, as with the last album. I felt that this helped create the ‘cold’ atmosphere that I wanted the album to exude. I’ve tried some new vocal approaches too that I think give a couple of the tracks a little more dynamics. But don’t get me wrong - despite these new influences and the experimentation, it’s still most definitely a speed metal album and contains some of my fastest and most aggressive music to date. I’d like to think I haven’t gone completely off the rails!”

While previous albums have dabbled with Scottish history, mythology and folklore, Coronach is a more full-throated rallying cry from Aberdeen’s most accomplished speed metal warrior. Named after the improvised communal singing that is a tradition at funerals and wakes in Scotland and Ireland, the album digs deep into the hazy past, while also drawing ghostly parallels between ancient rites and the challenges and conflicts of the present day. Truly, this is Hellripper’s most powerful statement to date. 

“Each track on this album, like the previous one, is based on Scotland in some way, but I have tried a couple of different lyrical approaches,” McBain states. “Kinchyle (Goatkraft & Granite) is based on my time growing up in the North-East of Scotland, but with a Hellripper twist of course, and the track Mortercheyn heads in a more punk direction, and looks at society’s downfall. We have works inspired by the poetry of Sir Walter Scott, horror stories by Robert Louis Stevenson, the real-life crimes of Burke & Hare, and of course, more legends and folklore in Hunderprest and Baobhan Sith (Waltz of the Damned). The horror stories and folklore fit so well with Hellripper’s music, and so it makes sense to lean in that direction.”

To best represent all of his wild ideas and imaginative concepts, McBain has made an album that resounds with the wicked spirit of metal’s old school, while feeding from the bloody steel and frostbitten ferocity that fuelled more mystical and morbid times in history. Songs like barbarous opener Hunderprest, first single Kinchyle (Goatkraft & Granite), and the brutal and unrelenting blasphemy of Blakk Satanik Fvkkstorm expand Hellripper’s sonic remit in numerous, revolutionary ways. With numerous progressive touches, subversive amalgams of obscure metal substrains, and an overall sound that strikes a sublime balance between big-budget power and wretched, skin-flaying iciness, Coronach is a dazzling display of nefarious militancy with huge, skull-slicing, unforgettable tunes.

“I think this album sounds ‘colder’ than the previous one,” notes McBain. “With each album I create, I feel the overall sound is more diverse than before, but also more cohesive in tone and atmosphere. You’ll find influence from anything and everything from Venom and Mercyful Fate, to Watain, Opeth and Manic Street Preachers, all wrapped up in a nice speed metal package! I wanted each track to include something that I had never done previously, whether that be the inclusion of a different instrument, or the way a song starts, for example. I think each track will offer some sort of surprise.”

Already established as the UK’s kings of ghoulish aggression, Hellripper will release Coronach at the start of 2026. A launchpad for the band’s ongoing mission to tour anywhere and everywhere across the globe, the new songs are the full-blown and devilishly detailed flipside to the crazed, sweaty chaos of a Hellripper live show. Exhilarated by his own progress, McBain is newly committed to spreading the disease far and wide. 

“The goal with each album is to create something that I like myself, and have fun while doing it,” he concludes. “The plan following the release is to tour more than we have done previously, so that we can reach more people with this album. I hope to get over to the US for more than just a show or two - that’s a priority. So, I’m off to a good start, and hopefully people feel the same way as I do about the record!”

Coronach is about to grab the world’s attention, like a well-aimed axe to the back of the head. Hellripper are returning: built for speed and ablaze with infernal glory. Let the carnage commence!

Side A (22:31):
1. Hunderprest (05:49)
2. Kinchyle (Goatcraft and Granite) (04:33)
3. The Art of Resurrection (05:44)
4. Baobhan Sith (Waltz of the Damned) (06:24)

Side B (21:35):
1. Blakk Satanik Fvkkstorm (03:53)
2. Sculptor’s Cave (04:35)
3. Mortercheyn (04:18)
4. Coronach (08:48)