Summon: How did the band get started?
James: Since Hellripper involves just myself, it started simply because I could not find any other musicians in my area that were interested in playing this kind of music. I had the idea probably back in 2012 and some songs were written but I never got around to actually releasing anything until just recently.
Summon: What kind of music do you play?
James: I would describe the music as speed metal with elements of first wave black metal, thrash and punk.
Summon: How has the fan response been?
James: Response to the debut EP has been quite positive so far. It hasn’t been out for that long but I’ve had some kind words from people.
Summon: Where did the band name come from?
James: It just popped into my head and I thought it sounded pretty cool. Quite a boring story really, I wish I had a more interesting explanation.
Summon: Introduce the band members and what they do in the band.
James: I’m James and I am the sole member of the band, so everything is done by myself.
Summon: Who writes the music? Lyrics?
James: I write all of the music and lyrics.
Summon: And where do the lyric ideas come from?
James: It depends really. Sometimes I will come up with something while reading about a certain topic or while watching films etc. In most cases I will decide on a song title before I write the lyrics. The type of music Hellripper plays lends itself well to horror imagery so in most cases the goal is to write something dark.
Summon: What is your view in Satanism and Occultism?
James: I don’t really have an opinion on them.
Summon: How many albums/CD’s have you released?
James: Only 1 EP has been released so far entitled ‘The Manifestation of Evil’.
Summon: Tell me about some the songs on the latest CD?
James: There are four songs on the EP that come to about 10 minutes in length overall so as you can guess the songs are fast and aggressive.
Summon: Do you have any side projects?
James: Well technically Hellripper is a side-project as it is not a gigging entity at the moment. I am the guitarist and vocalist in a band called ‘Rats of Reality’ that play what we describe as “crusty metal punk”. I have a death metal band named ‘Lord Rot’ and a dark-rock band called ‘Lock Howl’ that both plan to release some material in the near future.
Summon: Who are some of your musical influences?
James: I have quite a varied music taste, however the influences that I use for Hellripper are bands such as Celtic Frost, Sabbat [JPN], Venom and Darkthrone.
Summon: Which current bands?
James: I am currently listening to quite a lot of Midnight, Beastmilk and Steven Wilson.
Summon: What is the band like when you play live?
James: Currently there have been no live shows for Hellripper but I do hope to change that.
Summon: What do you think of the US Black Metal/Death Metal scene?
James: I do not really know much about the current scene in the US.
Summon: What do you think of the Overseas scenes?
James: I’m not sure whether they are part of “scenes” or not but I am a big fan of a lot of “newer” traditional heavy metal bands from Sweden such as Enforcer, Steelwing and Portrait. I am also a fan of quite a few “newer” death metal bands from Sweden such as Morbus Chron and Tribulation who are both doing something interesting. Germany has quite a good black/thrash scene with older bands like Desaster and some “newer” bands such as Nocturnal, Ketzer and Obsessor etc.
Summon: What are some of new favorite black metal/death metal bands?
James: I am a huge fan of Oathbreaker, although not strictly black metal they do have that element within their music. As previously mentioned, Morbus Chron and Tribulation are excellent death metal bands.
Summon: When do you guys plan on writing any new material?
James: Work on new material has already started.
Summon: What does the future hold for the band?
James: Hopefully to play some live shows and to release some more music. If there are any bands and/or labels reading this and are interested in doing a split or something, just fire me an e-mail!
Contact them at:
hellrippermetal@gmail.com
http://www.hellripper.bandcamp.com/
http://www.facebook.com/Hellripper1/
