Review: Hexripper - Demo 2018
When I heard about the disbanding of Canadian heavy metal band Device, it wasn’t good news and I didn’t feel good about it, but I was kind of sure that Device fellas will start a new project just when you’d think there’s no hope to hear more from them. Some months later I found that Kyle Harcott, drummer of Device has started a new band, unnamed at that time, and there was no further information about it. But honestly I was sure that it would be something more evil than what I’d heard from Device.
Hexripper was formed a bit later and I was very lucky to be one of the few who knew about this band and their music, while everything was sort of, you know, secret! I watched the band jamming in their rehearsal room and it was a total blast for me. I loved what I was hearing and everything was as evil and ominous as I was expecting. It truly was. “Soldiers of Satan”, “Night of the Witches Rune” and “King Kilmister” quickly became my favorites. Hexripper is absolutely what I love about heavy metal music. It is a creature made by mixing Motörhead, Venom, Sodom, Satan and Hellhammer music with melodies of Mercyful Fate, Tank and Angel Witch. And that’s exactly the spot I would say: HELL YEAH! Listening to it the whole night, headbanging to it and doing air guitars like I was a teenager.
Hexripper’s very first release, Demo 2018, is nearly 22 minutes long and it is completely what you want to hear from a black metal fused (?) [yeah!] raw heavy metal band. Riffs are melodic, tight and chunky and guitar solos sound classic, just like its harsh vocals, songs’ verses and choruses. Song structures are rather classic and old fashioned, because the band really wanted to be there, to pay homage to old ones, the great ones, the best ones. Hexripper’s first demo is short but it goes places and it brings some of finest tunes we heard from some of the finest metal bands in the history, which I’ve already mentioned.
One of the greatest moments of the album comes somewhere in the middle of song “Hexripper” which closes the demo album and it completely reminds you of biggest names in psychedelic classic rock music like Hawkwind, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple or Blue Cheer. Moments like this positively change the spirit of this demo here and there and they give it a dynamic vibe. Something else I really like about this song is where Kyle Harcott sings the chorus and he yells: “Hexripper! Ride the black winds / Hexripper! Sharp as a knife”. This always gives me chills and it feels like it is one of the missing lines from Venom’s song “Black Metal” and its chorus part.
Hexripper’s Demo 2018 is very easy to listen to. There are so many great and enjoyable moment, so many fiery parts to bang your head to while you are raising your devil horns to the air. Hexripper didn’t want to bring something special and new, yet everything they’ve done on this record is very special and refreshing. No doubt about it, this is one of my favorite releases of 2018.