Ripcord - The Damage Is Done LP

Not to sound like a neo-Luddite, but one of the great losses of the modern world is regionalism. The bands that clustered around New York’s Lower East Side in the 70s—the supposed “ground zero” for punk, if you buy into that kind of mythology—sound distinct from the first wave of British punk that succeeded it. 

As punk evolved, countries, regions, and cities all developed their own distinct styles: New York, Cleveland, Sweden, Italy, Japan, and the East, Midwest, and West Coasts of America all became synonymous with particular sounds. Nonetheless, none of this happened in a vacuum. It’s impossible to imagine the second wave of UK punk without its counterparts in America. One aspect of this discussion that I think is often overlooked is reception; when a style of music is filtered through a scene with its own sensibilities, interesting things happen.

Ripcord is a prime example of this. Alongside bands like Heresy, Electro Hippies, Concrete Sox, and—arguably—their counterparts from across the North Sea, LÄRM, Ripcord helped develop a unique brand of thrashcore. Their style shows the blueprint of American hardcore and crossover; think Siege, early D.R.I., Cryptic Slaughter, and Septic Death. However, there is an undeniable “Britishness” to their sound. Considering the creative melting pot that came with the mixing of punk and metal in the UK in the 80s, it’s impossible to imagine that Napalm Death, Amebix, Discharge, or later contemporaries like Sacrilege weren’t important influences.

The result is a brand of politically conscious, protein-deficient thrashcore that values the raw, primitive immediacy of hardcore punk and the not-insignificant power of the RIFF, all delivered at blistering speed. — Oli