Reviews: Mörk Gryning, Hellripper, Tibetan Sky Burial, Vesta (Matt & Paul S)

After 15 years of biding their time in the shadow realm, Swedish band Mörk Gryning emerge with their razor sharp extreme riffage, sharpened, polished and ready to take the heads of anyone who listens. As mentioned this is their first album since 2005 and it feels as if theses legends of the scene haven't lost  step Goth Goron (bass, guitar, keys) still leading them in their pursuit of supremacy in the black metal realm but he has been reunited with the other founding members of the band Draakh Kimera (drums, guitars, keys, lead vocals) and Avatar (lead guitar, vocals) so Hinsides Vrede can be seen as almost a re-birth for the band, trying to rekindle the fire and fury of their cult debut album with this sixth record that translates to 'otherworldly wrath.' 

This is what you get as Hinsides Vrede explodes out of the stereo with Fältherren and The Night showing those tremolo picked riffs and virtuoso solos that the band have been associated with as well as their ear for the melodic on Sleeping In The Embers along with the wonderful Black Spirit as song that features Goth on lead vocals and guest vocals from Laura Ute. If I were to make a comparison I'd say Cradle Of Filth would be the one that stands out, although without the pig squeals. The multitude of small intermezzo's like the piano-led For Those Departed are used to link the album together adding artistic flourishes to the straight up black metal sound. After a 15 year wait Mörk Gryning return with a furious melodic black metal record that will please anyone that has been waiting in anticipation for this record. A welcome return. 7/10 

Hellripper: The Affair Of The Poisons (Peaceville Records) [Paul Scoble]

Hellripper have been making music since 2014. Hellripper do exist as a live band with a full line-up, however on record Hellripper is James McBain (not to be confused with the action hero character from The Simpsons) playing all the instruments and vocals. The first material released by Hellripper was an EP released back in 2015 called Manifestation Of Evil, then there followed several splits and a compilation of the EP and split material called Complete And Total Fucking Mayhem. Hellripper released their first full album in 2017, called Coagulating Darkness, and followed this with the excellent Black Arts And Alchemy EP in 2019. So, have Hellripper managed to keep up the high level of quality that has characterised their career with this new album? Hellripper play a very Blackened style of Thrash that feels rooted in the mid nineteen eighties. 

There are elements of early Slayer, Early Sodom, Early Kreator as well as having a healthy dose of NWOBHM melody and tunefulness and an attitude that is reminiscent of Venom or Motorhead. There are also obvious parallels with with more modern Black Thrash acts like Toxic Holocaust and Aura Noir. However, having mentioned a lot of other bands, Hellripper definitely have their own sound, and those references are just to give you an idea of what the band sound like. As you’d expect from Black Thrash all the material on the album is really fast, there are only about 2 or 3 slow sections on the album, and even the mid-paced material is dwarfed by the amount of full throttle, savagely fast thrash. Probably the fastest and most unhinged track on The Affair Of The Poisons Is Beyond The Convent Walls which has a similar feel to early Slayer, it’s an almost ridiculously fast adrenaline fuelled blast of fast riffs and ripping solos (or should that be Hellripping solos?). Which brings us on to the soloing on this album, which are all fast, frenetic and full of energy, whilst at the same time being appropriate for the song and never detracting from the thrash. Some of the thrash on here really does transport you back to the early days of thrash. 

Vampire's Grave has an opening riff that reminds me of classic Motorhead, it’s a song that would fit in with a lot of the material on Ace Of Spades. Savage Blasphemy has a lot of NWOBHM melody in it, and combined with the fast riffs this gives the track a feeling that is reminiscent of Kill ‘Em All Metallica. There is a definite Punk sense to some of the material as well. The tracks Spectres Of The Blood Moon Sabbath and Blood Orgy Of The She-Devils both have this simpler feel to the riffing that is so Punk. Both tracks are filled with cracking, spikey riffs, that remind you why crossover thrash is so exciting. The Affair Of The Poisons is a great piece of Thrash Metal. It’s packed with energy and drive, full of tight riffs, ripping solos and exuberant, effervescent tempos. What is really great about this album, is it’s fun, life affirming and it puts a huge smile on your face. This album could pull people out of comas its so full of life, anyone who can listen to this and not head-bang must already be dead. If you are looking for a massively energetic blast of an album; then this is it. 9/10

Tibetan Sky Burial: Lamenta (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]

With a ringing dissonant chord and multi-layered roar we have the debut record from Texans Tibetan Sky Burial, not the kind of band to wish you Namaste, Lamenta is a raging, torrid, piece of emotional record which is conceptual piece dealing with the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Now in the current climate many of these will feel very real to a lot of people as many of us are dealing with some kind of grief. So with now added resonance Lamenta is an album that may act as some kind of catharsis for those struggling, especially if they enjoy the crushing atmospheric blackened post metal of Ba'al, Inter Arma et al. Tracks such as Scorned beat you around the head with the sheer unbridled aggression that evolves into the more down-beat atmospheres on songs like Flesh Rot. Produced & recorded by Kfir Gov at Evil Snail Studios in Austin, Lamenta is a strong debut from Rick Fernandes, Bryan Stevens, Healy Rosman, Shane Wallin, Rom Gov channelling suffering and strife into musical aggression. 7/10 

Vesta: Odyssey (Argonauta Records) [Paul Scoble]

Italian three piece Vesta have been making huge noises since 2016. The band, featuring Giacomo Cerri (Seed'n'Feed/Dinelli & SNF Ensemble/Foolhouse/La Lisca) on Guitar and Loops, Sandro Marchi (La Iena) on Drums  and Lorenzo Iannazzone on Bass, have made one album before Odyssey in 2017’s self titled album Vesta. Vesta play a mix of Doom and Post Metal, with maybe a little bit of straight Hard Rock injected into the mix. The other aspect of Vesta’s sound is the lack of vocals; Vesta are a purely instrumental band. The different styles present on Odyssey, tend to be mixed together, so all of the tracks have some very huge doom riffs and also Post Metal sections with clean guitar layered together. Opening track Elohim has some great doomy riffs, it opens with a slow build up to some nicely massive Doom riffs in a sort of 6:8 time signature, before the tempo increases and we are in huge and bombastic territory. The doomy aspects of Odyssey are very effective, to me there seems to be a little bit of influence from Crowbar in places, Sleep in other places, and coming somewhere between the two there is a little bit of similarity with Pallbearer. Although Vesta clearly have their own sound, there reminiscence to these bands in some of the riffing. 

The middle section of Breach is a good example of the Post Rock aspect of Vesta’s sound. After some huge and expansive doomy riffing, the song takes a turn towards softness and introspection. The Post Metal section features clean guitar riffs, layered together, the feeling is relaxed and cathartic. The song then builds back up for a huge and heavy ending. The best example of the Hard Rock feel on the album is probably the final track Cerere. The song has taut, tight rock feel, the riffs are less relaxed than the doom riffs, and the tempo is slightly faster and more driving. Odyssey is a great mix of Doom, Post Metal and Hard Rock. I find with instrumental albums that if I start to wonder where the vocals are, it probably isn’t that good. However, if I just enjoy it and get into the album without wondering where the vocals are, then it’s almost certainly a great album. When I listened to Odyssey, I didn’t think once “Where are the vocals?”, I just enjoyed the fantastic riffs, the beautiful introspective Post Metal sections and definitely nodded my head to the Rock swagger. Which means that this is a great instrumental album! 8/10