Review: GraveRipper - From Welkin to Tundra (2025)
GraveRipper - From Welkin to Tundra (9/10). This Blackened Thrash/Speed Metal album hits like a merciless sprint: fast, caustic, and vicious, delivering pure forward motion. Read the full review!
Band: GraveRipper
Album: From Welkin to Tundra
Genre: Blackend Thrash/Speed Metal
Country: United States
Label: Wise Blood Records
Released: October 17th, 2025
Introduction
GraveRipper, the blackened thrash/speed metal band from the United States of America, released their second album From Welkin to Tundra on the 17th of October. To be fair, it was a bit of a sleeper release, well, it was for me at least. But i'm glad it appeared on my radar.
From Welkin to Tundra
The band itself wasn't completely unknown to me, I am familiar with their EP Radiated Remains, but thereafter, they fell off the radar and that's about it. But now they are back with their second release From Welkin to Tundra, and where to start.
The album itself contains 10 tracks with a runtime of 34 minutes, so from the moment you hit play, this album just goes.
Track list:
- Welkin, Now Tundra
- Bring upon Pain
- Hexenhammer
- Death's Cold Embrace
- Sanctioned Slaughter
- Hounds from Hell
- New Gods, New Masters
- …and Now It's Dark
- Bullet Laden Crown
- Burning Barren Plains
Graveripper's second full-length hits like a merciless fury of blackened thrash and speed-metal, rather than a slow descent into frost. Having only glimpsed their earlier EP Radiated Remains, this album really took me by surprise.
From the opening instrumental “Welkin, Now Tundra” the atmosphere is set: cold and very bleak. That brief prelude doesn't linger, by the time “Bring Upon Pain” hits the album slammed into the gears and turns it up a notch. The drums hammer like a war machine on the move and as previously stated (well many times before) that's just the way I like the drums to sound, they should be relentless. Guitars rail-fast with some nice riffs and vocals bark with venom, and they mean business. It's definitely the kind of blackened-speed/thrash hybrid I like.
To me, this album sounds like there is no minute wasted: this is pure forward motion, a bullet straight into your chest until the record ends-and you find yourself pressing “play” again without thinking. Tracks like “Hexenhammer” and “Death's Cold Embrace” lean heavier into black metal hatred; “Hounds From Hell”, “. And Now It's Dark” or “Bullet Laden Crown” smash through with punklike aggression and thrash riffing sharpened by icy leads. Even on the more straightforward thrash assaults, the black metal undercurrent is there, and makes this album even nicer.
Conclusion
This record doesn't try for subtlety, and that's what I really like about it. It doesn't pretend to be anything, and it certainly doesn't try to reinvent the wheel. But what it does, it does with conviction: fast, caustic, direct, and vicious. GraveRipper plays like there is a fire burning inside them, and they need to unleash that fury. I hope they keep that flame lit for a long time. For anyone who craves the adrenaline of speed/thrash metal and the cold cruelty of black metal, From Welkin to Tundra won't disappoint you, I'm certain of that.
BMZ rating: 9 out of 10
Your thoughts on From Welkin to Tundra by GraveRipper
We love to hear your opinion about this album. You can do so by becoming a member and comment on this post.
Or share your opinion and thoughts on our social media channels, or join the discussion on our Discord—where we talk about all things black metal. Don’t forget to follow our Facebook page, Black Metal Zine, for updates on our latest articles, and have a look at our Instagram @blackmetal.zine for concert photos and more!
