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Interview with HELLRIPPER

The Babyface of Black Metal, Hellripper's James McBain
James McBain is the birth name of the one man army known as HELLRIPPER, hailing from the Scottish Highlands. This project sounds like the speed and darkness of Bathory collided with Motörhead's punk attitude, glistening with all the glorious satanic sleaze of vintage Venom. 

McBain has kept the riffs a blazing on full steam since 2015. He's produced two EPs, one full length, and splits with Barbatos, Bathsheva, Acid Cross and Kriegg in five years.  

Hellripper's most recent EP, Black Arts & Alchemy, has turned devil horns with its rambunctious styling. Part of their growing popularity must be due to McBain signal boosting his fans on social media. His Instagram is quick to show off off fan submissions of their Hellripper merch. Take note, up and coming bands! This is how you grow your audience, and win black hearts and twisted minds.
 I recently conducted this interview via email with Mr. Hellripper himself, James McBain.
What do you consider the heaviest song of all time?
For me it’s got to be ‘Black Sabbath’ by… Black Sabbath! The riff is so simple but just so evil and combined with the overall atmosphere of the song, it’s damn heavy! It’s even better when you consider it was released back in 1970 (and written in the 60's)!
Name one riff you locked yourself in your room to learn? 
I distinctly remember trying to learn ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ for ages! I must have been 14 or 15 and was just getting into heavier stuff. I had been playing guitar for a little while previously but was primarily playing more classic rock and punk stuff. And although ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ isn’t necessarily a very difficult song, that little lead part at the start gets quite confusing and is annoying to get right the whole way through for a somewhat inexperienced player!
As a one man army, tell me about the creative process for your new EP? The creative process for me hasn’t really changed since I started Hellripper. I just mess around on guitar and write down anything that sounds cool on TuxGuitar/GuitarPro (definitely my most helpful tool!). From there I just expand on any ideas and add the drum and bass parts too. So by the time I come to recording, the songs are around 90% done as MIDI files and I have a good idea of what the final product is going to sound like. Lyrics are usually written after the instruments have been recorded so I have a better idea of how the vocal parts will sound in the end.
You joined forces with Japan's BARBATOS for a split in 2018. How did this dangerous meeting cum to be?
I’ve been a fan of Barbatos and Abigail for ages now and I wanted to record a couple of songs for a split release. I simply got in touch with Yasuyuki online and the split was done fairly quickly! It was originally supposed to be released on 7” but the original record label couldn’t do it for some reason, so I released it on tape by myself.
Who is the first musician to give you a heavy metal hard on? I would say either Metallica or Megadeth. They were the first “proper” metal bands that I got into and it was at around the same time. I was obsessed from the moment I heard ...And Justice For All and Peace Sells.... But Who’s Buying?
Tell me about one of your favorite concert memories. 
I saw Cannibal Corpse and Triptykon on my 17th birthday and it was one of the first extreme metal shows that I attended. It was a few hours away from where I lived and we were stuck in traffic for ages but we made it just before Triptykon started and it was a great night!
Is there anyone else you'd like to collaborate with in the future? 
I’m always up for collaborating with people, which is why there have been so many split releases over the past couple of years! I’m really hoping to do something with Whipstriker from Brazil at some point! We have talked about it a lot but our schedules just haven’t aligned yet unfortunately.
What's next for HELLRIPPER? 
I just finished the second full-length album over Christmas so that will be released in a couple of months hopefully! It will be released through Peaceville Records which is exciting since it’s such a great and well-respected label. They have released some of my favourite albums too so it’s a great feeling to be among those!
Other than that, we will have some shows throughout the year and hopefully some tours throughout Europe.
Who are your favorite bands at the moment?
Midnight, Wraith, Whipstriker, Bat, Evil Invaders

Thanks for going one on one with the GRIM1. Anything you'd like to add?
Thank you very much for taking the time out of your schedule to talk to me! I know corpse entertainment is a busy business! Thank you to anyone still reading, and you can check out Hellripper online at Bandcamp/Facebook/Spotify etc.

 Listen to Hellripper's latest Black Arts & Alchemy at their Bandcamp.

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