Two Way Tape Review - Ripping Death – Tales of the Ripper & Necrosemen - Vglns

Review by Trevor Proctor.

As the end of 2015 approaches the steady tide of underground greatness that we’ve been bombarded with during the year thankfully shows no sign of abating. Two releases due in December will see two of the undergrounds most respected labels, Iron Bonehead Productions and Blood Harvest; bring us cassettes most worthy of our attention as they bring us two absolute beauties. Two very different styles of death metal yet two essential listens……

Ripping Death – Tales of the Ripper - Iron Bonehead Productions.

Iron Bonehead Productions is set to proudly release the debut demo from a new underground force – Ripping Death. Despite being a new band it’s been stated this three piece is made up of veterans from metals underground. Comprising Rick Disgrace (guitars), Angel Ofensor (drums) and R.R. Bastard on bass and vocals we can only try to imagine who the hell the real musicians behind these stage names could be.

Testimony to the rumour of Ripping Death comprising veterans is the involvement of two other immensely talented underground heavyweights who also participated in the creation of Tales of the Ripper. The band’s logo was designed by Chris Moyen and the era-specific artwork was created by Paolo Giradi. Ripping Death’s music is no nonsense, fast paced and very catchy authentic Death Metal that could have been plucked straight from the late 1980’s. It’s blatantly obvious Ripping Death is of the same ilk as Hellhammer, Repulsion or subsequent death metal stalwarts, Cianide.

The demo features four tracks across thirteen minutes with the closing track fittingly being a cover of Cianide’s Rage War. The pace throughout is fairly fast paced, catchy and strangely addictive. Featuring squealing and intricate guitar solos, riffs galore, some exceptional drumming and bass work all held together with an authentic guttural vocal there’s little else you could expect from this release. If you’re a fan of late 1980’s and early 1990’s death metal the only thing you’ll be left wanting is more of the same. With Death Metal spiralling off in so many alternative directions of late it’s both enjoyable and refreshing to listen to some uncomplicated up-front death metal as dealt by Ripping Death.

Authentic yet never retro don’t let this tape be missed as it is released at a very busy time of the year. 8 out of 10.

Ripping Death – Tales of the Ripper - Iron Bonehead Productions.

Tracklist:

01 – Midnight Terror
02 – Night Ripper
03 – Death Blow
04 - Rage War (Cianide cover)

Necrosemen - Vglns - Blood Harvest.

Blood Harvest is quite similar to Iron Bonehead Productions in that it releases a steady stream of underground gold and this is most certainly the case with Necrosemen’s Vglns, which they are due to release on tape on the 4th of December.

Formed in Switzerland in August 2012 Necrosemen originally began as a one man entity with Ishk performing all instrumentation on debut EP, “And All Shall be Smitten by Fire” which was released in March 2013. This EP was released by Blood Harvest on 12” vinyl with label, From the Dark Past, later releasing it on cassette in June 2014. The EP featured three tracks of barbaric black/death metal and immediately drew comparisons with the likes of Teitanblood and Wrathprayer. Since 2013 Necrosemen evolved into the five piece that spawned Vglns and to date the band has shared billings with heavyweights such as Acherontas, Dead Congregation and Mystifier. 

Vglns sees Necrosemen continue their black/death approach with four tracks of punishingly heavy and destructive death metal that surpass just over twenty minutes; their music is both intense and oppressive death that makes for quite a punitive listen. Their music was perfectly summed up by the press release as “A ghastly, gibbering maw of vortextural black/death bestiality, Vglns consumes the listener whole with merciless, undulating waves of bulldozing filth, subsonic dread, and cavernous emanations from an infinite abyss. The whole experience is beyond overwhelming; the punishing physicality is stifling. Vglns is the beginning of greatness for Necrosemen.” A new era is set to begin for Necrosemen as the band is now a two member entity though they do have a full length album planned along with a vinyl release of Vglns. I hope this is just the beginning for them and if Necrosemen can write an album’s worth of music as good as this I’ll be the first in the queue to get it. 

Oppressive and intense this is very very good. 9 out of 10.

Tracklist:

01 - Vglns - Serpent ov Qvndalini

02 - Kh(X)s - Satvrn Fratricidivm

03 - Eskh+tos - End All Flesh

04 – Necrosemen.

Tales of the Ripper by Ripping Death has just been released by Iron Bonehead Productions and Vglns by Necrosemen is due to be released by Blood Harvest early December.