Interview: James McBain (Hellripper)
- 29 minutes ago
- 15 min read
Interview: 18th February 2026
Hotel Hobbies: Before we speak about the new album, can we go back a little and talk about what first drew you to music and subsequently the style of music you now write?
James McBain: What drew me into music was that in primary school when I was about five or six, one of our teachers had a wedding. As a surprise for the teacher, we were all made to sing Love Me Do by The Beatles. I didn't know really what music was but I thought it was the greatest thing ever. I went home and I remember asking my parents if they had ever heard of The Beatles. Do you know them? Like, and shockingly enough, they knew who The Beatles were (laughing). My dad said that if I liked them, I should listen to this other stuff. He was into classic rock and he liked AC/DC, the Eagles, The Police and Dire Straits - that kind of stuff. I really liked it. My mum liked Queen. I just got into music and gradually got more and more into guitar music. I think I was just naturally drawn to guitar music. When I was younger, there was the indie scene in the UK with Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand and Kasabian so I just loved guitar music and rock and all of that.
When I was thirteen or so, I heard a couple of songs from …And Justice For All and Peace Sells. I can’t quite remember how. Then my whole everything changed. It just resonated. The music was fast and aggressive. The next day I went out and bought both of those albums. From there, I went off YouTube and forums and found news sites to find out about similar music. That way, I discovered Slayer, Annihilator and Testament as well as bands like Havoc, Warbringer and Enforcer. Then, I gradually got into more extreme metal like Cannibal Corpse and eventually it led me to the black thrash punk thing with 2000s era Darkthrone and Toxic Holocaust. That became my favourite style of music and I wanted to start a band in that black thrash metal punk style and so Hellripper was born.
Hotel Hobbies: Was it from that point that you realised making music was what you really wanted to do?
James McBain: Yes, it is basically since I heard metal. I played guitar a little bit before I discovered metal, but not really seriously. When I heard metal, I really got into guitar and I started learning properly and putting effort into it. I immediately wanted to write my own music. I don't know why; I just enjoyed the creative aspect of it. I would jam with a few friends. We wrote songs and played covers but nothing ever really happened. I played in a punk band and kind of got involved a bit in the Aberdeen music scene and the Scottish punk scene when I was like 18 or 19, I think. That was my first experience playing live and being in a band and recording proper songs together with people. Then I got to a point when I wanted to write the style of music that Hellripper would become but no-one wanted to play in that kind of band. A lot of bands like Toxic Holocaust, Bathory and Midnight are basically solo projects with DIY aspects and I was inspired by that. That got me into writing music for Hellripper as a side project. I realised I liked working this way better. I enjoyed the solo aspect and the freedom to not have any schedules or anything to adhere to like anyone else's availability or whatever. It has just kind of grown over the years. I just like this way of working.
Hotel Hobbies: You started initially by just wanting to release an EP in the local area. You must be thrilled by how far Hellripper has come and the interested it has generated.
James McBain: Absolutely and yes, I just wanted to release an EP of stuff that I enjoyed writing and put it out. I thought the maximum best possible thing would be that a few people in the local scene liked it. There were no plans to play live. There were no real plans to do anything! The EP got more attention than I expected. Small labels from all over the world wanted to put it out on cassette and there was interest in having an album. That made me think I better do just that! Then, demand for a live set grew and the band has grown gradually. It has been wild. In some ways, it is hard to comprehend that this is even happening. I am grateful for the support I have received and that people have been interested in the music.
Hotel Hobbies: It has been almost three years since Warlocks Grim and Withered Hags. What has the journey been liked since then? That album really seemed like a step up for you in different ways.
James McBain: Yes. There was a significant kind of growth following that album. We were able to do a lot of cool stuff. We did our first big support tour with Abbath and Toxic Holocaust which was about a month long. We did a lot more touring than we had before because it wasn't really a proper live band. We would play some shows but there was only about five shows per year. What has been different this time is that the writing for this album was done in between touring whereas the last couple were done with more focus. At some points, it was kind of stressful, but I think I got good results and I'm pleased with it. But everything that has happened has been crazy. We've played with some of my favourite bands and met some of my favourite musicians.
Hotel Hobbies: The new album, Coronach, is due to be released in a little over a month. With writing in between touring, how did you know when the album was finding its voice?
James McBain: The way I write is to write and record at the same time because I do everything here at my home studio. That allows me to be able to record whenever I want, which is a big advantage because I don’t need to book studios and stuff. Things do take shape over time. In the past, I would write the album then record it. This time, I recorded piece by piece so it was a different way of working. The album took shape in different ways. There are between twenty and forty versions of each song, different iterations. Some versions might have a bridge sounding more black metal, for example. It was about finding the best version out of all of them.
I would say it really started to take shape at the start of 2025 when a couple of songs were finalised. I can write and record with no limitations so I don’t always know what is going to happen with an idea. Then, I condense everything into an album that is cohesive and make sure the songs flow well. There’s always stuff left over that I really like that I don’t use for different reason. I'm changing things up until the last minute as well, even when the album's finished. Even one day before I submit things for mastering, I think about changing a guitar solo or something.
Hotel Hobbies: You have described Coronach as a colder album than Warlocks Grim and Withered Hags. What made you talk about it in this way?
James McBain: It was just the vibe I had when I was writing it. It’s a colder sounding album and I don’t know if that will mean anything to anyone else other than me. Maybe I just got it in my head. I think it was about the production and some of the influences. It is maybe a bit more black metal influenced or gothic influenced. I think that is reflected in the artwork too which is a kind of pale blue and grey, whereas on Warlocks, I always had it in my mind its was a foresty sounding album. That’s why it had the green colour palette.
Hotel Hobbies: What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a one-man project?
James McBain: The main advantage is that I can do anything at any time. I can come into my room and my home studio here and record an idea. I can write without any interference or influence from anyone else saying they don’t like it. And also, if I don’t want to write or I feel blocked, I don’t have to do anything for a period of time. I don’t need to rely on others’ schedules or on renting out studios. I love writing music and it's like my hobby and my passion that I would do anyway. So it's cool to be able to do it by myself when I want and how I want.
With the disadvantages, working with others would mean other people could bring ideas to the table that might improve the songs. It might mean getting more influences from different people. That could improve songs but I could also make them worse or not take songs where I would want to go. I've done it for so long like this that it's become my way of working and it's just how I work best. It’s how I get my ideas out. I think Hellripper works best as it does now but you never know what might happen in the future. I just want to enjoy the process and get good results.
Hotel Hobbies: On this album you have used a new range of instruments including piano, cello and violin. You are keen to retain the core Hellripper sound but you are quite prepared to experiment and take things in a slightly different direction.
James McBain: Exactly. It keeps me inspired. The only limitation I put on myself is that I want Hellripper to remain speed, thrash, black thrash, whatever you want to call it. I find it more enjoyable with the added challenge of expanding the sound. So taking these different influences from different kinds of music and incorporating that into Hellripper but keeping the core sound there is the fun part. I don't want to limit myself completely because that's when you struggle and that's when you start trying to do things forcefully in a certain way. I want Hellripper to have its own kind of identity, its own sound and the only way I think I can do that is if I incorporate more of me in the music.
Hotel Hobbies: You have also found some different ways of doing vocals.
James McBain: Yes. With the vocals, I had a vision in my head of not totally clean vocals but maybe just less screamed I guess (laughing). I had not done that in this context before. I wanted to make sure it could work and I could experiment. I wonder if I should harmonise the vocals, put them in different speakers or apply certain effects. It took a long time but I was happy with the results.
Hotel Hobbies: Lyrically, your music is steeped in Scottish history, folklore and your own experiences. You obviously enjoy telling these type of stories. There is such a rich amount of material to pick from.
James McBain: Yeah, the good thing about the new album is, all the music is Scottish themed and based on folklore, horror stories and historical events. It’s not too different to what I have written about on previous albums. It’s still about good and evil through a Scottish lens. It keeps me creatively inspired. Here I write about Edinburgh with Burke and Hare and the body snatching for example, so it’s a different takes on those themes. It's also sort of unique in the style of speed or thrash metal to have a Scottish kind of theme because it contributes to the band’s identity.
Hotel Hobbies: Hunderprest opens the album in aggressive fashion. Did that always stand out as an opener when you were writing?
James McBain: No, it was actually my partner that said it should be the opening track based on the frantic intro. I had two or three different ideas but my partner said from start that it should be the opener.
I usually kind of go back and forth on the track list and change everything. And I think I had two or three different opening track ideas based on where the album was headed. But yeah, from the beginning, my partner was like, that should be the opening track and it does make more sense. You put the needle on the record and it's just there's - no time to waste. I think it's probably my favourite track on the album so that helps. I think a great opener is important but you don’t want to frontload it so people think the first half is better. I have so many iterations of the track listing before I am happy.
Hotel Hobbies: Talking of stories - that is based on the legend of Melrose Abbey.
James McBain: Yes! It’s the perfect story for Hellripper. The vampire of Melrose Abbey! It’s about a chaplain who lived a life of sin and was a horrible person. He was buried in the graveyard of Melrose Abbey and the story goes he would rise from his grave at night, harassing and haunting villagers to satisfy his bloodlust. It fits the Hellripper aesthetic perfectly.
Hotel Hobbies: Kinchyle (Goatkraft and Granite)Â is partly inspired by your own upbringing in Scotland. I know you also wanted to reveal some truths about the country behind the magical postcard images.
James McBain: Yes. Kinchyle is the first track that I have really put a personal touch into the lyrics. It was about my experiences growing up in Aberdeen, the Granite City and Kinchyle is the McBain clan war cry. I did love Aberdeen. I haven't lived there in a while now, but I grew up in Aberdeen and spent twenty something years there. But yes, its not what many would picture when they think of Scotland with the lochs and the green and the Outlander kind of stuff. Aberdeen is very grey, rainy and dull. When I do go back, it feels like the city is having the life sucked out of it. People are not happy and shops are closing and there's less to do. It was a challenge trying to do a more personal song, but I made it Hellripper and gave it the dark imagery to make it fit.
Hotel Hobbies: For all the speed and attacking, you also have a quieter section in the second half of the song that adds to the atmosphere and variety.
James McBain: Yeah, that was what I was going for. The song is probably the most like rock'n'roll song I've written in a few years. I wanted it to kind of have something different and I wanted it to shift vibe in the middle. I wanted it to be a bit darker because it's quite an upbeat kind of song for the most part. That was a piece of music that was originally in the middle part of another song at some point. It just fit perfectly in Kinchyle though. I enjoyed doing it and it was something to add a slight air of unpredictability.
Hotel Hobbies: There is also a Running Wild influence on the track in some of the instrumental passages.
James McBain: Yes, exactly! It’s funny because some people think the chorus reminds them of Running Wild. I wasn't thinking of Running Wild at all for the chorus. It was mainly in the guitar solo.
Hotel Hobbies: In a completely different style, the piano introduction at the start of The Art of Resurrection is beautiful. Another chance for light on the album before the dark of the monstrous stampede that follows.
James McBain: That intro was originally written on guitar and the initial idea was more in the vibe of Bleed The Freak by Alice In Chains. Then, I was listening to a song by Agnes Obel and it was piano and cello. So I thought I should try that intro on piano and it worked perfectly. Then it goes into a speed metal riff (laughing)! I would describe it as Hellripper’s take on post-punk. It is a bit slower than most of Hellripper's music but it's one of my favourites for sure. That one took a while to get right because there are so many different parts to it.
Hotel Hobbies: The shortest song on the album is Blakk Satanik Fvkkstorm which is all out attack!
James McBain: That was one of the first ones I wrote for the album. I had half of it for the previous album but I just couldn't figure out how to complete it. Then when it came to this album, it just clicked for some reason. It is inspired by Thrawn Janet by Robert Louis Stevenson, a cool horror story. I changed the title to make it a bit more metal looking. That was a fun one.
Hotel Hobbies: In comparison, you have the epic final track – the title track. It has a wonderful emotional arc and it's quite an amazing closing statement.
James McBain: Oh, thank you very much. The structure is a bit weird because there’s not much repetition, maybe just one chorus. It was a through-composed kind of journey. It happened naturally where I would add on a new part. It was a little inspired by songs like Welcome Home (Sanitarium) or In My Darkest Hour where it's half slow then builds up to a faster part. It was something I had never done before. I was listening to a lot of classic rock and Southern rock with loads of guitar solos and also live videos with extended jams and solos. Bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd or Eagles or Dire Straits or whatever. I thought to myself that I'd never had a four minute guitar solo so I would try that. Even though its nine minutes long, there was another five minutes that I removed because it was disrupting the flow. That song was probably the most difficult to write because there were so many different things. Again, that's one of my favourite songs. I think the first and the last songs are probably my two favourite tracks on the album.
Hotel Hobbies: You set out to do some different things on this album and tried to do something new on each track. I think you definitely achieved that. Each track has its own personality.
James McBain: Thank you. That in itself was the challenge because I wanted each track to have its own personality but I also wanted a cohesive album. I set myself the challenge of doing something in each track that I had never done before. It didn’t always need to be a huge thing but sometimes it was. The piano introduction on The Art of Resurrection was a big thing but it could be something small like the introduction to Blakk Satanik Fvkkstorm which was a little different to anything I had done before. I think I just find it more interesting to do things with as few limits as possible and then edit it later to make sense.
Hotel Hobbies: Which, as you mentioned, is the advantage of doing everything yourself.
James McBain: Exactly. There are millions of takes of vocals and if I was hiring a studio or others were waiting for me, it would have been a nightmare.
Hotel Hobbies: You mentioned the artwork which is by Adam Burke who has done some amazing covers. What was it like collaborating with him?
James McBain: I've been a fan of his work for years and I know what he's capable of. I can't remember exactly what I sent. I think I may have sent him like a brief idea with the vibe I was going for. Then he basically did it. He sent me a sketch. I said, that's cool. Then he sent me an almost finished thing. I was like, that's great. And then he sent me the finished thing and I was like, perfect. It's great being able to work with someone like that because I trusted him fully to do something great with no interference from myself. I'm not an illustrator or a painter. I'm very bad at visual arts so being able to work with someone that knows what they're doing and kind of letting them do their thing is great, because I'm very happy with the result. The colour palette is exactly what I wanted.
Hotel Hobbies: It is one of those pieces that lends itself to the resurgence of vinyl and having the big artwork in your hand.
James McBain: Yes. I love paintings for this style of music. There are so many different styles of course. The Maiden artwork is great, whether it is Eddie as a zombie or an Egyptian on Powerslave or a cyborg on Somewhere In Time with its crazy details
Hotel Hobbies: You have a lot of tour dates coming up this year. Which songs from the new album are you particularly looking forward to playing live and which do you think will prove to be the trickiest?
James McBain: I really want to play the seventh track Mortercheyn. It is a frantic punky one. There’s a riff at the end in the breakdown that’s going to be fun to play. I want to play Hunderprest because I think its my favourite and it’s a journey in itself. I don’t think it’ll be done immediately but I want to play the title track. It will be the trickiest because there are so many parts to it and its nine minutes long! However, I don't want to do a song that's going to take up half of the set list so it'll depend on circumstance.
Hotel Hobbies: You have been a musician for a while now. What is the most valuable lesson you have learned in that time?
James McBain: I think it's that nothing comes without dedication and effort. I never thought I would be able to write something on piano. I work hard on the band with the live shows, the promotion, sending merch and also the social media admin. I've put a lot of work and dedication into it and it's paying off. I'm enjoying it and it seems to be working.
Hotel Hobbies: Thank you so much for spending time talking with me today and good luck with the album when it comes out. I am sure it is going to take you another step forward.
James McBain: Thank you so much, man. I really appreciate it. Thank you for listening and for your interest.
Coronach is released on 27th March and will be reviewed soon.
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