Cripper – “Devil Reveals” (2009)

Label : SAOL

Review by Tony Cannella

From Germany comes the band Cripper. The band play a combination of Old School Thrash Metal with some elements of Death Metal, although it is the Thrash aspect that dominates most of their new CD, “Devil Reveals”. This is their second full-length effort (their first was titled, “Freak Inside”). “Devil Reveals” is a metal exercise in thrash aggression, and features many heavy riffs and the utterly vicious vocals of Britta Görtz. The first thing that caught my attention was the awesome production on “Devil Reveals”. The riffs come across as being so heavy and unrelenting, and the vocals of Britta are perfectly done and only adds to the aggression and power. The opening intro, “Helix” gives way to the first song, “I (…)” that really sets the tempo. Don’t expect anything too nice among the 12-tracks here, as the overall vibe is belligerent and hostile. Perfect examples of this are, “Kids Killing Kids”, “Caged with a Gun”, “Junkie Shuffle”, and “I Am the Pit”. “Devil Reveals”, features a playing time of about 46-minutes and there is no wasted time on the CD. The songs are direct and to the point. “Devil Reveals” is a relentlessly, powerful second outing from this German thrash band, that will really get the blood pumping and the head banging. Personally, I love old school thrash and hearing Cripper is like a breath of fresh air, since It is not too often that you hear a newer band that plays thrash metal that is this high in quality. Even though the music is thrashy, there is still a level of technicality that the band displays. The music on “Devil Reveals” packs a huge punch and Cripper are a band that fans of REALLY heavy music should gravitate to.

Rating – 85/100

Tracklist

1. Helix
   
2. I (…)
   
3. Life Is Deadly
4. Kids Killing Kids
5. Caged with a Gun
6. Junkie Shuffle
7. More Than 4
8. I Am the Pit
9. Devil Reveals
10. Faqu
11. Methods in Madness
12. Hysteria

Line Up

• Britta Görtz – Vocals
• Christian Bröhenhorst – Guitars
  
• Jonathan Stenger – Guitars
• Bastian Helwig – Bass 
• Dennis Weber – Drums