Hardcore metallers Boneripper, from Harlingen in the Netherlands, release their follow up to EP Vengeance & Forgiveness, their debut album World Ablaze. Short, sharp, fast, and very aggressive, this is my type of album. Average track length is two and a half minutes of brutal hardcore laden brutality. The band is made up of members of well-established bands from the Dutch hardcore scene, including former and current members of Manu Armata, 13Steps and Bladecrusher. Notably, three of the five bandmates are blood brothers — the Glashouwer trio, consisting of WD, Jeljer, and Kees-Jan. Their sound is polished and well honed.
The opener, Final Warning, is a short instrumental track with recorded spoken word over the top, which slides in to the second track. The Abyss speeds along with brutal guitars, pounding drums and angry vocals. There are obvious influences of Hatebreed, Biohazard etc, but this is a good thing as they have taken the best bits and made them their own. The album runs along nicely with the next track Desolated bouncing with a definite 90’s feel. As the songs are short the album moves along at a real pace. As most modern crossover bands tend to stretch out their songs to four or five minutes, its quite refreshing to get an album of fast furious brutality.
The songs are a little bit repetitive but as they are so quick it doesn’t detract from the flow and pace of the album. The album carries on in a similar vein, with their brutal songs covering modern subjects from mental health and climate change. Another quiet instrumental in the middle provides a short period of relief before they kick back in with my favourite track Xenophobic which is reminiscent of the 90’s hardcore I was obsessed with at the time.
Overall, I really like this album. I can’t wait to be in the pit watching these boys live In the near future. Speeding through ten songs in slightly over 20 minutes makes this the right way to do hardcore: fast, furious, and with no compromise.
World Ablaze was released on 24th May and should also be available on all social media outlets.
Review by John Caffrey
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