Ripper – Towards Rebirth
Release Date: 24th July 2026
Label: Dark Descent Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Old School Death Metal, Thrash.
FFO: Kreator, early Sepultura, Pestilence, Sadus, Slayer, Morbid Angel, Nervosa, Vittra.
Review By: Malte Brigge
Chile’s death/thrash assault team Ripper (not to be confused with Columbia’s speed/thrash independents Ripper, nor Paraguay’s thrash miscreants Ripper, nor Brazil’s thrash gathering Rippër) formed around 2007, but outside of an EP and a split, haven’t made much noise since 2016’s sophomore album Experiment of Existence. Which is a pity, because the noise they make is all redlining riffage through serrated guitars. Think of an amped up Kreator with early-Sepultura serum exploding in their blood, fed on a steady diet of Altars of Madness with generous helpings of Pestilence, Slayer, and Sadus chased by shots of Exodus and Testament. Patricio Spalinger—who was apparently only thirteen when he helped found the band—may have replaced everyone else in Ripper since Experiment, but their new blood burns white hot and they play fast as the devil flying Towards Rebirth.
On both Experiment of Existence and Towards Rebirth, Ripper has monumental production. The album feels like a live experience, and let’s thank them for putting Tomás Barriga’s Di Giorgio-coded bass right in the middle of everything. Both guitars (Spalinger shares both riffin’ and lead duties with Nicolás Young) have a distinct sound even as they rocket around each other. Javier Buzeta’s drums are the only aspect that suffers somewhat—some heads are a little flat, the cymbals lack sheen in the loud mix, but holy fuck does he shred the everloving shit out of those skins, maintaining furious skank beats interrupted only by flesh-flaying rolls and tumbling fills. I’d bet he loses about five kilos every night they play and is absolutely drenched in sweat. Actually, probably all of them. These songs must be murder to play.
A minute-long synthwave intro gives a “We’re baaa-aaack!” vibe to start things off, then the first blasts of World of Darkness tell you everything you need to know about the remaining forty-one minutes of your life: Slayer snare, speedball thrash riffs, rusty death tones, Spalinger’s grainy voice barking on the fringes of the Schuldiner Zone. The vocals don’t have much variety but they serve the needs (subtle, clean harmonies on Towards Rebirth are an excellent touch). Except for brief moments like the tasty little bass solo on The Source Exterminator and the slightly cooled pace that starts The Secret Dawn and Towards Rebirth, Spalinger and Young lead the band at ludicrous speed to shoot way past Sadus-tinted plaid. Riffs stack upon riffs, bouncing and spinning (Messages from the Other Side), chunking and thugging (The Source Extermination), slicing and dicing (Final Hologram, World of Darkness, etc.). Ripper has so many riffs shooting out of their fingers they had to write a six-minute long instrumental fugue to explore just how many different expressions they can get out of a single idea. Answer: a lot. The Secret Dawn is six minutes of nothing but riffs and solos and is one of the funnest things to happen in 2026.
Actually, this whole album is one of the funnest things to happen to 2026. There are verses and choruses but it’s hard to tell which is which, and the way phrases fly into each other it doesn’t really matter. There’s no limit to who does what at any given moment, but the playing is tight and never gets messy. Message from the Other Side and Into the Coldness of Land of Dead (sic) roll out crowd-pleasing hooks, showing that Ripper knows how to write a song in addition to playing with lightning technicality. They takes cues from Anthrax and Suicidal Tendencies for pit-pleasing breakdowns (The End of Universe [sic] and Final Hologram) that are so good I just identified them as “the mosh” in my notes. Tremolo runs abound, sometimes surprisingly melodic (Procession to the Eternal Rest), and solos are exceedingly well-executed, revealing a great awareness of both melody and shred (Towards Rebirth, Into the Coldness of Land of Dead), even venturing into ominous, atmospheric territory (The End of Universe).
Ripper returns, and we are grateful. Towards Rebirth was absolutely the album I needed to blast away the fog of atmospheric and artistic shit I’d been listening to for the past two months and to remind me why I fell in love with metal in the first place. Roiling riffs, great bass tone, flailing drums and barking vocals do nothing but kick ass, and when they’re done kicking ass, kick some more ass. The Chilean music scene seems to have “great” as a default setting, and their metal scene absolutely rips right now, so get ripped and get yourself some Ripper.
(4 / 5)
