Witch Ripper released their debut full-length record Homestead in 2018, and followed it up with a killer split with Brume. Now we're premiering the band's music video for the track "S.L.U. The Hive" not only to help you learn about these two obliterating releases, but to tell you about Witch Ripper's coming tour with Forming The Void.
Guitarist and vocalist Curtis Parker says the song is about Seattle being taken over by boring ass rich people.
“Lyrically it’s about the kinds of people taking over the city of Seattle. Seattle used to be super weird, kinda smelled like pee and was a haven for bizarre, queer, punk and metal artists. With the almighty Amazon/Paul Alan takeover of the city, it's now full of just some of the most vanilla people on the planet. In the song they’re described as apex machines rising to replace normal people. The South Lake Union neighborhood (SLU) is their main base in the city, and I personally used to work in a restaurant in the area and just dealt with them too much and that's what inspired these lyrics.”
I should also add that Parker literally gave himself malaria trying to make Homestead. Y'know, just in case you needed that extra prod to go check the record out. A man give himself malaria so he could bring you riffs. Just saying.
“In this band, I'd rather spend money working with a good producer, so as the bill for the album got higher, I needed to make cash quick. I've never been one for handouts and the idea of crowdfunding wasn’t appealing, but I've always thought the money is out there if you get creative. So what I ended up doing is subjecting my body to medical testing by participating in a malaria study, in which I was given a cure and then infected with malaria. I had to give blood like 40 times over the span of two months while they tested me. It wasn't the most fun, but it helped pay for a huge chunk of our recording costs!”
Check out Witch Ripper's releases here, and catch 'em (and not malaria) on tour below.
Thursday 10/24 – Spokane, WA at The Red Room
Friday 10/25 – Seattle, WA at The Funhouse
Saturday 10/26 – Olympia, WA at Le Voyeur
Sunday 10/27 – San Francisco, CA at DNA Lounge
Monday 10/28 – San Jose, CA at Press Club
Tuesday 10/29 – Santa Cruz, CA at Blue Lagoon
Wednesday 10/30 – Los Angeles, CA at The Redwood
Thursday 10/31 – San Diego, CA at Soda Bar
Friday 11/1 – Berkeley, CA at The Five & Dime (no Forming The Void)
Saturday 11/2 – Eureka, CA at Sirens Song Tavern (no Forming The Void)
Sunday 11/3 – Portland, OR at Azoth (no Forming The Void)
