EP Review: Dripping Decay – Ripping Remains
Reviewed by Sam Jones
Dripping Decay are an act I’ve seen crop up time and again lately, especially since they released their debut full length album, Festering Grotesqueries, only last year. Formed in 2019 out of Oregon, United States, Dripping Decay are a four-piece death metal act who have been playing the slow but steady game with releasing their material. Their first Demo, Watching You Rot, released in 2021, which was soon followed up by that aforementioned full length piece. A Single soon followed, a cover of Halloween’s own Trick Or Treat, which also features on this EP, and so continuing their signing with Satanik Royalty Records, beginning with their first album, Dripping Decay return with their first EP, Ripping Remains, slated for a January 23rd release date. It was time to see what Dripping Decay were all about.
Oh, I love how the band take you down one avenue before smashing your expectations to pieces; the inclusion of an ephemeral opening before literally throwing us through a car crash window where they smash our brains to bits is such a jarring and in-your-face decision but, owing to the ferocity by which they play, it comes across with vehement impact. Yet, with just more than fifteen minutes to work with, the band can’t hang around and, spread across six tracks, the band get underway with their songwriting quickly. Their performance is rabid and you feel the speed bristling off this EP but, despite the ferocity the band otherwise dish out, they still acknowledge the need to slow things down and enable the audience to stew amidst their steadier moments. The fact that Ripping Remains doesn’t even exceed twenty minutes but is still concerned for providing a realised experience that fans can fully enjoy is testament to their efforts, and, if anything, only drives us to anticipate their next full length.
Though the band don’t have much time to play with (literally), they do a great job at grabbing our attention and then maintaining it until the EP’s end. There are blast beats throughout here that really had me opening my eyes, the fastest I’ve heard in quite some time, not to mention the clarity also rendered to them which allowed them to come across to me as easily as they did. The riffs and soloing also deserves mention as while the band embody this dirty and unrefined style, the guitar work harnesses a surprisingly clean aesthetic that showcases clear attention thrown upon how the audience will interpret each section of each track included. While the EP, when the band are playing collectively, pushes this sense of grime and filth forth, the individual components each have their moments to shine and, when doing so, exhibit much cleaner production. It’s evident the band use these instances to draw our attention towards specific segments and had enough confidence in their own ability that audiences would take to them.
What I really took away from this EP was that while the band are definitely bringing the energy and flurries violence inherent within death metal, it doesn’t seek to beat your body into the earth. The soundscape Dripping Decay thrust us in is powerful and there certainly aren’t many cracks for our attention to fall out of, but even then the band mercifully give us enough room to think and breathe all the while their performance is baring down on us. When you strip away everything surrounding the band’s performance there isn’t much being injected into the background so when the vocals or riffs aren’t being implemented, it’s a more easygoing experience than most death metal works would allow. The guitar tone, whilst crushing and possessing a fierce timbre, is far from the most cavernous thing I’ve heard before and therefore riffs don’t linger; the chord or note is played but then dissipates quickly, so the band aren’t vying for a cacophonous soundscape here. It’s particularly old school, one I really enjoy as it doesn’t try to impart anything to us that’s otherwise not immediately delivered by the band themselves.
In conclusion, Dripping Decay’s latest EP is exactly what the band wanted: a short but sweet piece that will get people on board with their sound and what they can offer. With a well balanced mix and quality production, even on such a small work, it brought me into the fray and I’m personally interested in what the band do next. Their first full length was something I missed out on when it first released but I now have the incentive to go back and see what that record holds for me. I also thoroughly enjoyed how Ripping Remains is nicely varied in track length too. It’s nicely peppered with shorter tracks that give way to one longer piece before returning to a swifter piece; it keeps their performance flowing as well as ensuring the pace never wanes nor becomes predictable. All in all, it’s something to look out for come January 23rd.
