Review by Michael on April 7, 2026.

Was "Withering Grim & Withered Hags" (why do I always have Haggis in mind when I read about this album title?) more a fox on the run, "Coronach" has turned out to be a flock of rabid black sheep terrifying the Scottish Highlands. Kicking off with "Hunderprest" (strange title but if you are a little bit more into Hellripper you know that James is dealing a lot with Scottish tales and this one is about a Scottish monk who returned after his death as a vampire) the band doesn't make any prisoners. This is instantly a straight forward, face-kicking black speed attack with some dissonant, almost Voivod-esque riffs at the beginning. If you had expected a smoother introduction, I guess you have to be disappointed at this point. What becomes clear though is that in the songwriting some more rock n'roll elements found a place. A lot reminds of Motörhead and with "Kinchyle (Goatkraft And Granite)" you can find the next live killer on that album. But it is not only Motörhead that makes this song but also a lot of blues vibes and if you listen closely you will also find out some Cathedral reminiscences, some country vibes and even a huge bow to Edvard Grieg. Or I am totally wrong with that which also might not be wrong. The older you get the more you want to hear things that aren't there, right? What did you say? A cold beer? Oh, thanks yeah, that would be great, especially to that song!

But not only party tunes found its way on "Coronach" but also some more pensive tunes like the piano in "The Art Of Resurrection" or some sort of estranged "Marché Funebre" by Chopin in the beginning of the title track. And as it has to be for such a song, it is quite doomy. Only the gnawing vocals spread some aggression as if the grim reaper should be kept away from here. In straight opposite to these slower atmospheric songs stand "Baobhan Sith (Waltz Of The Damned)" with a lot of thrash elements in the guitars or the black speed killer "Blakk Satanik Fukkstorm" (fukking kool trakk!!). But also in these faster tracks you can still hear a lot of rock n’roll influences so you can obviously speak of a huge step forward for Hellripper. And now that Megadeth isn't there anymore, we have a very appropriate successor for the gap Dave is leaving. "Sculptors Cave" has so many cool riffs that could have been on an early Megadeth album, if there only weren't the blackish vocals.

Are there any flaws on "Coronach"? Not really, but because the quite hasty start with the very fast and furious tracks that rain down on the listener, and the so many things happening in the 44 minutes, it is a little bit tricky to get into the album instantly. But once one of the black sheep bit you in your ass it won't let loose. This is for sure one of the black speed highlights in 2026 and I am really looking forward to seeing the guys live next week!

Rating: 9.5 out of 10 black sheep