Stone me I’m a luckier than a cat with a strawberry flavoured arse! I’ve had a run of really good albums to review recently and that has continues with the first full length record from North London caaaaaaants Dripback.
I’ve seen this bunch numerous times live and they’ve been the support of choice for such death / grind royalty as Lock Up & The Rotted. They never disappoint and never look out of their depth, creating a wall of sonic agro that is as addictive as it is punishing.
Following on from 2011’s excellent debut, the ‘Inhaling The Ashes’ EP, this record is exactly what I expected. Just pure vandalism. Compressed, substance fuelled, no messing. Again, like the EP it’s produced by Russ Russell (does this bearded magician ever put a foot wrong?) but this time, frustrated by record company muppetry, the boys have released it on their own ‘4 Family’ label. A bold move but definitely the way forward it seems these days.
Kicking off with a sample that’ll part your eyebrows – we’re smashing straight into ‘Wasted’ with vocalist Wez screaming like a banshee over guitarists Lee & Luca’s surgically precise riffing. This is proper, no nonsense snarling fury! Like having five rabid pit- bulls tearing round your house pissing everywhere, you dare not try and stop them so you may as well relax and enjoy the mauling!
Album highlights for me are the politically charged ‘Profit Driven War’ which features a tasty Alan Ford sample and some great drumming from Hellhog and the nightmarish, essentially instrumental title track which showcases a more mature side to the band which lurches into a chugging riff underpinned by Adam’s rumbling bass, it drips with sampled anguish and almost has a ‘soundtrack’ feel to it, good stuff and bleak as hell.
The whole album really consolidates what the lads achieved on ‘Inhaling The Ashes’. The band is really quite unique in their exciting blend of hardcore, death metal, d-beat, grind and thrash. No surprise really considering Dripback is comprised of members / ex-members of Ted Maul, Labrat, River Freshney and the underrated Pure Negative.
I hope this album sells by the sack load, these hard working Devils from North London deserve every success.
And if you don’t buy it, best ‘keep yer mouth shut & yer ‘ead down’ or Wez, Luca and the boys won’t be too fucking chuffed!
(9/10 Mark Eve)
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