You can claw your way into Rag Ripper’s March 2024 self-titled EP on all streaming platforms. Rag Ripper plays a unique blend of technical skate-punk that will ignite your rebellious spirit with unrelenting riffs, pointed lyrics, blazing drums and rumbling bass guitar.
Get ready because this EP is a sonic rollercoaster of genre-defying adrenaline from start to end.
As far as high-energy punk is concerned, this EP delivers blazing riffs upon riffs. The strings on this record are incendiary.
The guitars all work together in a fiercely connected way, spinning melodies over dissonance with impeccable technique and the melodies are nuanced yet in-your-face.
The band has encapsulated the definition of technical punk and fused it with varying influences. Bright, punchy, Billy Talent-esque riffs are combined with the heavy metal guitar licks like Dragon Force.
While challenging what “normal” means in the punk rock genre, Rag Ripper stumbles upon a unique style of their own. A style that is equal measures technical prowess and finesse.
Fair warning: the bass on this record slaps. Spastic bass breaks and sliding riffs will pound through your subwoofer without mercy. Then, when you throw in the drums on top of that—there goes the roof! The rhythm section holds the piece down like a medieval fort. I very much enjoy the delicate interplay of drums and guitar as frantic fills and bouncy bass fly around all over the place.
The songwriting truly taps into the soul of modern punk evolution, tackling themes of emotional complexity— for example, in the song, “I’m Not an Alien,’ with the words, “I’m not a fucking alien. I’m just an old soul inside this painted skin.” The song is about alienating oneself, thus depriving oneself of the very joy that one puts into the world.
From start to finish, this record really blazes by. It has all of the fundamental signs of a band finding their style and having fun while doing so.
It’s a fun listen for fans of the genre and a notable addition to the Rag Ripper discography. A strong precedent has been set on this record that may ring out in future releases in both style and tone.
F.F.O: Billy Talent, No-Fx, No Use For A Name, Blink-182, Dragonforce
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