Blade of the Ripper

Blade of the Ripper hail from good ol' Louisville, Kentucky USA (HEEEEEEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAAAW!) . The band was formed by Adam Neal (ex. The Hookers, Nashville Pussy and most recently the Brothers Of Conquest). Blade of the Ripper play old school styled, raw heavy metal with some American thrash, NWOBHM and European power metal elements thrown into the mix. Although their song titles and lyrical content deal with occult subject matter, the music does not sound evil, scary or ominous at all. The lead vocalist mostly "sings" by talking out loud, almost to the point of shouting and really doesn't have any melody in his vocal delivery. He is supported at times by some shouting, background vocals similar to a style used by bands like Anthrax and Biohazard. The tone of the lead vocals sounds alot like that of Brad Divens of Wrathchild America. Some of the guitar riffs are actually quite good. The drums sound muddy at times, like a mix of pillows and trash cans being beaten to death. Most of the songs average around three minutes in length, so they are pretty much straight to the point; no real fancy or complicated arrangements. The tempos of the songs range from slow to mid paced. One of the slower songs that has a blues, almost stoner feel to it is House of Witchcraft. Within the last minute or so of the song, there is a tempo change as a quick snare drum roll off battles it out with some guitar harmony leads. The Bite and Possessed By The Nite represent some of the more up tempo, thrashier tracks which are sure to get your head banging and your body moshing! Blade of the Ripper is worth checking out. They aren't trying to reinvent the wheel or anything. They just offer something that still might appeal to those who are fans of this type of music from the past few decades. But for me personally, this stuff wears out its welcome very fast. I can't see this album getting alot of extended playing time from me. Try it before you buy it by listening to some song samples.