Reviews list for Ripper (CHL) - Experiment of Existence (2016)

Ripper are yet another of the superb thrash acts hailing from the Santiago / Valpairiso area of Chile, forming in 2007 and still going strong. That said, the lineup that recorded 2016's Experiment of Existence is very different to today's with only band founder, guitarist and vocalist, Patricio Spalinger, remaining. The entire album was written by bassist Pablo Cortés who departed in 2019 and is now to be found in death metal acts, Suppression and Ancient Crypts. As is fairly typical for the chilean thrash scene, Experiment of Existence is very tightly performed and especially aggressive deaththrash that captures the essence of something like Seven Churches, but with more ambitious songwriting and a greater emphasis on technical skill.

One thing you may have come to expect when you spin a chilean thrash album is that you are gonna get some killer thrash riffs along with electrifying soloing thrills and Experiment of Existence certainly doesn't disappoint with Ripper delivering in spades. One particular area where the chileans excel though is in the rhythm department and, again, Ripper tick that box too. Drummer Nicolás Villanueva, who was also sticksman for another favourite of mine, Parkcrest, is an excellent thrash drummer with a powerful and busy style that never misses a beat and his timekeeping drives the tracks at considerable velocity throughout. As I mentioned earlier, bassist Pablo Cortés wrote the album and this may be one of the reasons for the prominence of his driving and fairly complex basslines although, in truth, a prominent bass presence in the mix is yet another telltale sign of the modern chilean thrash scene. Patricio Spalinger's vocals are are of a vemomously ascerbic style that sounds like it takes a lot from Chuck Schuldiner's influence.

So, basically, Ripper have reached back to one of the most interesting times in metal's development as thrash was inexorably metamorphosing into death metal and given it a modern makeover with generally better production values and technical competence whilst never losing sight of what made those times so exciting in the first place. The tightness of the performance is a testament to the four guys' ability and you will be hard-pressed to find a metaphorical musical hair out of place here. Experiment of Existence is a triumph of high velocity, aggressive and muscular thrash metal that proves that thrash didn't die in the 90's - it just moved south!