London Crew Dripback Dig Up Ten of their Favourite Death Metal Classics

After a lengthy break, everyone’s favourite purveyors of filthy extreme metal, Dripback, made their return recently with a suitably nasty new EP, Blessed With Less Than Nothing. Now, given that we know about their knowledge of the death metal scene, we thought it only fit to get them to pick out some of their classics from the genre.

1. Pestilence – “Land of Tears”

Luca: “This was the first death metal tune I ever heard. Back in the day as a kid in London we had a show called Raw Power. Pure metal bands, new music, interviews. It was on at 3 am on a Saturday morning and I’d try to stay awake to watch and record it then would watch back and check out new bands. This tune got my 11-year-old earholes pricked the fuck up. I just thought Patrick’s voice was fuckin’ sinister. I love the mix of throat and gravel that geezer has… fucking wicked!”

2. Akercocke – “Il Giardino de Monte Olivetto Maggiore”

Luca: “Now where do I start with these guys? In 1997 these boys bust out at the Devils Church in Kings Cross. Anyone old-school enough to remember and be part of this truly historic part of London death metal history is truly blessed. The place was like a home to us and a lot of bands forged their worth within those walls. One was Akercocke, London’s finest. The lads bust onto the stage dressed like public schoolboys and tore the place a new fuckhole. Utterly sinister in their precise execution of totally intense satanic devilry. This track has still one of the most evil riffs of all time and when you hear this shit you will understand. Timeless!”

3. Carcass – “Corporal Jigsore Quandary”

Lee: “From Necroticism… their third record and my personal favourite. You can hear the Florida influences coming through for sure; but nothing’s overly technical or overworked. A proper headbanging mid-paced classic that makes you pull a face like you can smell something nasty rotting… eughh. 15 year old me has a hard-on.”

4. Morbid Angel – “Chapel of Ghouls”

Lee: “To me, this band is the perfect example of “Death Metal” and this song has it all; ripping solos, mid-pace headbang riffs, blasts, heavy Satan worship, a sick drop, and even shows early signs of the influence for black metal to come from Norway soon after. Altars of Madness… what a fucking record.”

5. Deicide – “In Hell I Burn”

Heggie: “Legion has always been one of my favourite death metal albums, and “In Hell I Burn” is the highlight. It’s pure carnage. Raw and uncompromising. The drums are insane, and I love the lyrics. I hear this tune and wanna head straight to the pit and go at it like a deranged teenager. This was Deicide at their best.”

6. Entombed – “Eyemaster”

Heggie: “Bustin’ out a bit of Death n’ Roll for this one! Luca got me switched on to Entombed when I was 14 after they played UK shows with Napalm Death, and this was the first album I got my hands on. It got played on repeat non-stop, and this opened the floodgates to all the other classic Swedish death metal bands. I love the intro to this tune, and when the main riff finally comes in and the beat drops, the only thing left to do is to bang your head and go apeshit!”

7. Bolt Thrower – “Cenotaph”

Wez4: “I first heard Boltthrower on a tape a kid at school lent me around 1995 I guess. On side A was Realm of Chaos, and War Master on side B. Initially I liked Realm Of Chaos more at first, but “Cenotaph” was one of those tracks that I kept rewinding over and over again. The fade-in intro is probably what hooked me, along with the heavy chugging and double-kick. The opening riff is also the same riff that fades out at the end of “Worldeater” on Realm of Chaos. Looking back now, it’s plain to see so many bands took inspiration from Bolt Thrower across all sub-genres of metal. I remember hearing “Last Breath” by Hatebreed for the first time years later and thinking “what the fuck? That’s the riff from “Cenotaph”!” This record didn’t have a lot of blast-beats in it either which at the time seemed kind of refreshing.”

8. Death – “Pull the Plug”

Wez4: “This is just awesome. Firstly, the record cover is badass and also mostly pink which, as a kid, was strangely appealing to me as it’s not really what you would expect from a death metal band. Of all the awesome Death tunes, this is my favourite. It has it all. The opening riff is menacing as fuck and, after that, it just kicks off in so many directions but it manages to flow back and forth through the riffs with such fluidity. “Pull the Plug” is a great example of all the different facets to Chuck’s song writing. The vocals are so distinct, the lyrics are wicked.”

9. Sinister – “Embodiment Of Chaos”

Adam Da Rat: “I think I came across these guys originally because I just loved the album artwork, took a chance on it and fucking loved them. This is such a beast of a track and has so many things I love about Death Metal. It’s face-meltingly brutal, viciously fast-paced but then has some huge hooks and grooves before pummelling the shit out of you again. It’s weird using words like “catchy” in death metal but it is, in its own gloriously brutal way. If you’ve not checked out Sinister before make sure you do, this is from the album Hate (1995).”

10. Obituary – “Infected”

Adam Da Rat: I don’t know anyone that likes Death Metal that doesn’t love Obituary so maybe this is an obvious choice but what a fucking great way to start an album. Nice slow evil build, dive-bombs everywhere, a bit of widdle then classic Obituary. No one – NO ONE – sounds like John Tardy, what a fucking voice – a crying, growling combo that captures utter despair but is still commanding – like some kind of sad angry Dragon who’s about to kick off big time and burn down the city and is sad about all the people he’s about to kill. In a genre that usually goes for a “more is more” approach to drumming, Donald Tardy’s slower pace really stands out and adds to their uniqueness too.”

Artwork for ‘Blessed With Less Than Nothing’ from Dripback