| CD REVIEW Ripper |
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Band : Ripper Through most of the 1980's Ripper were a Texas chainsaw metal massacre horror act and were known for their hard hitting songs and wild live shows with fire, smoke, fog, bombs, lights, costumes,… The only thing that escaped this band was unfortunately a good record deal as they had interest over the years from Metal Blade and others, but for one reason or another they never got signed. After re-releasing their 1986 debut album And The Dead Shall Rise on Black Widow Records too, it was time to unleash a brand old new album, The Dead Have Rizen, written just one year later by vocalist/guitarist Rob Graves in Los Angeles, though prematurely laid to rest with the band, never again to see the light of day, until now. You might compare them to another obscure 80s metal outfit Death SS if you will. So no extremely complex song structures or a break every 10 seconds but great straightforward horror metal which melts your brain. There’s nothing technical, pretty about Ripper and that’s what makes them so endearing to their fan base. Up-tempo metal (Lizzy Borden) with elements of 70s glam rock (Alice Cooper), NWOBHM (Raven) and slower doom passages (Pentagram) here and there bringing you back to times long gone but that metal maniacs still are longing for. In addition to 9 originals they also perform one cover song. One of my favourite tracks on their album is their rendition of “God of thunder” which was originally written by Paul Stanley. 90/100 Cosmicmasseur. |