Metalcatto
Sometimes I wonder why we don’t have more Death/Thrash bands. It makes sense—why wouldn’t you mix chocolate with cream? It’s the killer combo. But then I realized: finding the balance between those two is freaking hard. Ripper is more Death than Thrash, or so a superficial listen will lead you to believe. However, we’re not here to only make fart jokes and laugh at our penniless existence. We’re also giving Towards Rebirth a deeper dive.
Speed and dirtiness: those are the two things that Towards Rebirth is showing off here. Sure, any other Thrash band would do that. Sodom or Destruction would fit right in. But here we have something even heavier, something that at times touches old Tomb Mold territory. Thankfully, it doesn’t get lost in the crust and nostalgia, because I’m fed up with that, even if Dark Descent is behind it. It’s nice to get a band that can be old school but have its own take on the formula. The secret lies in the album’s technical details.
That bass is thicker than your… oh, I’m not going to go that low. You finish that sentence however you please. Anyway, this is probably the loudest bass I’ve heard this year, and it’s great. Everything else has that extra Tech Death touch—subtle, not there to blow you away, but to add another layer to something that otherwise would be average. As Towards Rebirth moves forward, it becomes more and more Thrashy, which gives the album a certain dynamic that ends up being refreshing. Enough with the Swedish chainsaw, okay?
There are a few things to think about, though. I still think the album could go crazier and push further toward originality. It’s not that it’s cliché, but I do feel these guys could either turn up the aggression or turn up the weirdness. Ripper is still playing in territory we’ve visited before, even if its reinterpretation is interesting. So I’m more curious about where the band is going from here than fully satisfied with where they currently stand. The potential is evident, but the execution, while solid, leaves room for bolder choices.
If you want some peculiar Death/Thrash that doesn’t completely get off the bashing train, then Ripper has something interesting to show you. It offers that safety and filth you grew up with, but also more layers than the average retro-Death trip. So in a way, I guess the album does offer some kind of reimagining of old forms. Now, that was proper pretentious reviewer talk.
Label: Dark Descent Records
Release date: 12th July, 2026
Website: https://www.facebook.com/ripperchileoficial/
Country: Chile
Score: 3.5/5.0
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