The Scottish black/thrashers HELLRIPPER are ready for their first appearance in front of the greek audience, on October 19th at Temple.
The group's mastermind James McBain answers our questions preparing us properly for a performance that will shake the foundations of extreme metal as we know it!
You can't miss it!
FB event: https://www.facebook.com/events/3687390828146289
Tickets: https://www.more.com/music/hellripper/
Hard Copy: Monsterville, Le Disque Noir Records Shop
Rockoverdose: Hello James and welcome to Rock Overdose. It’s very nice to host you and we’d like to know how have the latest gigs you did have served Hellripper’s route for establishment. A friend of mine saw you in England lately and his jaws dropped off.
HELLRIPPER: Hello! And thank you for taking the time to talk to me! I’m glad your friend enjoyed the show!
Rockoverdose: Before we go to the new album, I’d like to know your thoughts about the period regarding “The Affair Of The Poisons”, it was a hard period for everyone with covid, did you feel like your wings being cut, having a great album out and not being able to support it?
HELLRIPPER: I think there were two sides to the release of that album. First of all, we hadn’t really toured at that point, so we weren’t really known as a live band which I think played in our favor, but we did have a couple of really good tours and a lot of shows scheduled for 2020/21 that may have given the band’s reputation a big boost. But at the same time, with most people being at home, they had a lot more time to listen to music and check out new releases.
It’s difficult to say as it’s all a bunch of “what if?” questions. The band did see significant growth with the release of ‘The Affair of the Poisons’, so I consider it a success in that respect. And it’s an album that I’m very proud of! Would we have had even more growth if things were different? Maybe! But there’s no point in dwelling on these things as a lot of bands faced a similar situation.
Rockoverdose: So things took their course and 3 years later, the third album was out. “Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags” has been directly recognized by most fans as the best Hellripper album. First of all, do you agree with that statement?
HELLRIPPER: Yes, I would agree! Although, most artists think that about their latest work!
It was the most fun I’ve ever had writing and recording music and I really enjoyed experimenting with different song structures and with production ideas on this one - it feels like the most “personal” work of mine to date.
Rockoverdose: Continuing with the new album, I believe it’s the most “mature” as it incorporates the classic Hellripper sound, but I find elements which make it more complete and full as a sum, would you like us to take a dive on the influences surrounding it?
HELLRIPPER: I’m a fan of all kinds of music and so as well as the usual stuff that you would associate with the Hellripper sound, I wanted to explore those influences in some way in order to compliment my speed metal style.
There are some things you can hear quite clearly such as Opeth and Hexvessel in the acoustic break section of the title track, and there are a lot of things that may have given me ideas with regards to the song structure or production for example. I listened to a lot of 90’s rock during the writing process of this record and bands like Manic Street Preachers, Oasis & Alice in Chains led me to try more guitar layering and things like The Beatles led me to explore more possibilities with song structure.
Rockoverdose: This year marks the 10th anniversary of Hellripper. Did you wait to come this far? It seems to all of us it’s the ideal period for Hellripper to rise in fame and be considered as one of the best bands of the latest years. Which were your ambition on the start and what do you want to achieve currently?
HELLRIPPER: The ambition at the start was to write and record an EP by myself and put it online for people to listen to! I thought that maybe a handful of people from my local scene back in Aberdeen at the time would give it a shot and like it, and that was about it really! I had no intention of recording a full-length album and I had no intention of ever playing live even! Everything has grown gradually and organically and I take things as they come really!
As long as I can keep writing music that I’m proud of and still enjoy the process then I am very happy. We’ve played with and toured with a bunch of my favourite bands, we’ve played a lot of cool and respected festivals and have been able to visit a number of different countries all over the world! So my goal for the moment is basically to keep doing what I’m doing but at a larger scale and for more people to hear my music!
Rockoverdose: Mate, you live in the Highlands, a place all of us want to visit before we die, we all see pictures, hear rumors, you’re the ideal person to speak of the environment there. Also, the tricky part, does this spectacle of a place bring more inspiration to you about Hellripper in general?
HELLRIPPER: Yes, I moved to the Highlands at the end of 2019 and I started writing for the last album shortly after. The change of environment definitely inspired me, especially when coming up with lyrics. I was inspired to look into some Scottish folklore and the likes, and the result was an album completely based on Scotland in some form, whether that be poetry, history or folklore as I mentioned. It was fun to write about something different for a change, but something that still made sense with Hellripper’s music.
Rockoverdose: Many people associate Hellripper with Toxic Holocaust and Midnight as there is only one person doing the whole job, just like you do. Is it something bothering you, or is it something that highlights your efforts, to connect you soundwise and effortwise with these bands and people?
HELLRIPPER: It doesn’t annoy me at all! Toxic Holocaust and Midnight are both among my favorite bands of all time and were massive inspirations for myself when starting Hellripper. Without those bands, Hellripper would not exist. The way Joel and Athenar operate helped me understand that it was entirely possible to do things by myself.
Rockoverdose: You have a stable band by your side the last 5-6 years, how easy is to have someone by your side, when you’re used to do things on your own? Was it ever considered that they could work on an album with you, or is it something that will always remain your sole effort?
HELLRIPPER: I almost view the “studio recordings” and the live band as two separate entities. They operate totally differently and I have different aims with both.
The studio side of things is where I like to do things on my own and exercise my creative side. I enjoy working at my own pace and writing music by myself with a lot of experimentation and a lot of tinkering with sounds. In some respects, it is quite a “precise” process.
When playing live, it’s totally different. It’s a more punk rock approach and we aim to deliver an energetic and “balls to the wall” show. The nature of our music means things are a lot more chaotic and the focus here is on being energetic. It’s 2 guitars, bass, drums and vocals, so there are not really any “soundscapes” or layering or whatever - it’s a more straight-forward approach.
The plan for the foreseeable future is for the studio side of things to remain a solo project, but you never know what will happen!
Rockoverdose: In about 40 days we’re going to see you in Greece for the very first time. You have quite a strong base of fans here, especially from the previous album, with the explosion taking place with the new one. What should the fans wait from your performance and how does it feel every time you visit a new place?
HELLRIPPER: It’s amazing when we go somewhere for the first time and are greeted by fans of the band - it’s surreal to see in person just how far the music has reached. But, I’m very much looking forward to our first Greek show (I visited Crete a few years back on vacation for a couple of weeks and had a great time)! We’ve had a lot of people asking for us to visit and we have finally managed to work it out, and I’ve received a lot of enthusiastic messages from people since the announcement! You can expect a balls to the wall, fast and energetic show! Plenty of mosh pits will be required!
Rockoverdose: We would like to deeply thank you for your time and with you the best for the future. Tell us what you are up to and why is Hellripper going to raise some more hell in the years to come. See you very soon.
HELLRIPPER: Thank you very much for the chat! As well as our upcoming show in Athens, Hellripper will be touring Europe throughout the rest of 2024 and throughout 2025. I released a standalone single not too long ago called “Fork-Tongued Messiah” that you can check out online, and I am currently working on a new album that I hope to have out by the end of 2025 or early 2026. All Hail the Goat!
On behalf of RockOverdose,
Aggelos Katsouras
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