Riptime

Riptime…well…it absolutely RIPS. This is the album that I offer up to old school metal fans who ignorantly say “all new metal sucks”. Does this album break any new ground? No, not really, but what it does it does extremely well- and that’s straight up over the top classic heavy metal.

Riptime exudes energy as it starts off with the blistering, aggressive, yet melodic “Razor City” and while the pace of the rest of the album slows a bit, the quality of the songs doesn’t waiver. Vigilo Confido alone inspired me to pick up XCom 2, and Tinker Tanner’s melodic dual harmonized hooks which channel Iron Maiden will stick with you for days. The only somewhat low point on this album is Boiling Seas, which after the previous 5 songs seems a bit forgettable, however that’s not to say it’s a bad song and other listeners may enjoy it more than I did. The album concludes on another strong note with the 8 minute long epic Iron Rain.

Overall this album is filled with excellent, catchy and occasionally aggressive riffs, memorable vocal melodies that you’ll want to sing along with, and fun nerdy lyrical topics relating to sci-fi, fantasy, and the previously mentioned video game. While Sean Buchanan isn’t the most gifted singer in metal, he has a surprising range and his clear and clean delivery matches the traditional metal style of Mega Colossus nicely. Listening to this album it becomes quickly apparent that Mega Colossus had as much fun writing and recording Riptime as I do as I blast it in my car driving down the freeway- as I have done regularly since its release 2 years ago. As far as production goes, I am admittedly not the best judge of that, but to my ears it seems extremely well done, without being overly polished.

I’ve heard Mega Colossus compared to Slough Feg, and while I moderately disagree with this comparison for a few reasons (outside of general lyrical themes) I would say that fans of Slough Feg are very likely to thoroughly enjoy Riptime as well. I have to confess I lied at the beginning. I offer this album up to absolutely anyone who will listen to me. I even sent it to my mom, my congressman, and anyone within a 100m radius of my car and/or home stereo is intimately familiar with it.