Hellripper Coronach
Consensus is still forming across 4 professional reviews. Hellripper's Coronach arrives as a widescreen, blackened speed-metal statement that critics say sharpens James McBain's riff-first instincts into more ambitious songcraft. Across professional reviews, the record's blend of furious tempos, folkloric menace and polished production is repeatedly highlighted, with the titl
The title track “Coronach” is the best for its mournful clean vocals and emotional closing weight.
While some critics register minor quibbles - a couple of tracks overstaying their welcome and a few moments less immediate than the best songs - the consensus frames Coronach as He
Best for listeners looking for Scottish folklore and blackened speed metal, starting with Coronach and Hunderprest.
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Full consensus notes
Hellripper's Coronach arrives as a widescreen, blackened speed-metal statement that critics say sharpens James McBain's riff-first instincts into more ambitious songcraft. Across professional reviews, the record's blend of furious tempos, folkloric menace and polished production is repeatedly highlighted, with the title cut “Coronach” emerging as the album's mournful, epic high point alongside adrenaline shots like “Hunderprest” and “Blakk Satanik Fvkkstorm”.
Critics consistently praise the album's dynamic songwriting and expanded instrumentation, noting piano-led openings on “The Art of Resurrection” and tempo shifts on “Baobhan Sith (Waltz of the Damned)” as evidence of compositional ambition rather than mere speed-and-blasphemy. The collection earned an 87.5/100 consensus score across 4 professional reviews, with reviewers commending production polish that gives the blackened thrash an unusually cinematic atmosphere. Reviewers also point to a spirited fusion of Scottish folklore, macabre storytelling and punk-tinged aggression that keeps the record lively and varied.
While some critics register minor quibbles - a couple of tracks overstaying their welcome and a few moments less immediate than the best songs - the consensus frames Coronach as Hellripper's most fully realized release to date. For readers asking whether Coronach is good or what the best songs on Coronach are, the critical verdict is clear: “Coronach”, “Hunderprest” and “Blakk Satanik Fvkkstorm” stand out, and the record's blend of riffs, solos and theatrical heft makes it well worth investigating further.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Coronach
4 mentions
"wallowing, clean vocals from the Scotsman are almost as glorious as his sharpened snarls"— Distored Sound Magazine
Hunderprest
3 mentions
"Hunderprest whams on the first notes of the album, rammed to the fretboard with thrashing charisma"— Distored Sound Magazine
The Art of Resurrection
2 mentions
"A haunting piano and string intro opens The Art of Resurrection, before blackened thrash storms back in"— Distored Sound Magazine
wallowing, clean vocals from the Scotsman are almost as glorious as his sharpened snarls
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Hunderprest
Kinchyle (Goatkraft and Granite)
The Art of Resurrection
Baobhan Sith (Waltz of the Damned)
Blakk Satanik Fvkkstorm
Sculptor's Cave
Mortercheyn
Coronach
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What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 4 critics who reviewed this album
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Critic's Take
Hellripper’s Coronach is a glorious blast of blackened speed where the best tracks - “Hunderprest”, “Blakk Satanik Fvkkstorm” and the title “Coronach” - underline James McBain’s knack for riff-first songwriting and folkloric menace. Lucy Dunnet’s voice revels in the album’s frothing fvkkstorms and twinkling piano experiments, noting that Hunderprest whams with thrashing charisma while Blakk Satanik Fvkkstorm knocks furious shredding down your windpipe. The Art of Resurrection and Baobhan Sith add darker macabre flavours, but it is the mournful, somewhat glorious clean vocals on “Coronach” that make the title track a standout closer. Overall, the record is designed to be blasted loud, to be played again and again, and stands as Hellripper’s most personal, widescreen ripping yet.
Key Points
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The title track “Coronach” is the best for its mournful clean vocals and emotional closing weight.
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Album strength lies in relentless, riff-first blackened speed fused with Scottish folkloric storytelling.
Themes
Bl
Critic's Take
The reviewer's ear is caught most by “Baobhan Sith (Waltz of the Damned)”, praised as "a very fine piece of heavy metal songwriting" with "bewildering tempo changes", and by the title cut “Coronach” for its widescreen, mist-shrouded grandeur. Lesser but still vital moments like “Kinchyle (Goatkraft and Granite)” and “Blakk Satanik Fvkkstorm” add depth and fiendish invention, completing an album that rips faces off while revealing genuine compositional ambition.
Key Points
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The best song, "Baobhan Sith (Waltz of the Damned)", is lauded for its frantic arrangement and melodic grandeur.
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The album's core strengths are its Scottish folklore themes, inventive songcraft, and widescreen atmospheric ambition.
Themes
An
Critic's Take
A tonic for anyone short on vitamin R, Hellripper’s Coronach bristles with pulse-pounding riffs and blistering solos that make the best tracks stand out, notably “Hunderprest” and “Coronach”. The album balances Warlocks-era stretches with breakneck bangers, so when “Hunderprest” crackles with flashy fretwork and the closer “Coronach” reprises bagpipes and southern-shred flourishes, you hear Hellripper refining its identity. There are minor quibbles - “Baobhan Sith (Waltz of the Damned)” runs long and “Mortercheyn” is slightly less impactful - but overall Coronach is an undeniable corker and the best Hellripper has produced to date.
Key Points
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“Hunderprest” stands out for flashy fretwork and trademark rippin’ riffs that encapsulate the album’s strengths.
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Coronach’s core strengths are vibrant riffs, blistering solos, and matured dynamic songwriting that broadens Hellripper’s palette.
Themes
Critic's Take
Hellripper’s Coronach feels like a restless, gleeful expansion of a known formula, with James McBain nudging blackened thrash into new corners. The review leans on vivid specifics - “The Art of Resurrection” opens with a gothic piano that unsettles, “Kinchyle (Goatkraft and Granite)” brings almost hair-metal catchiness, and the title-track “Coronach” supplies an epic funeral march heft. Production sheen and dynamic songwriting get repeated wins, lifting these best songs above the usual sonic dungeons of the genre.
Key Points
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The Art of Resurrection is best for showcasing McBain’s experimental impulses and the album’s gothic textures.
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Coronach’s core strengths are high production values and dynamic songwriting that expand blackened thrash without losing its ferocity.