While the years since have obviously been spent on Toxic Holocaust and their rigorous recording and touring demands, Joel Grind brought back WAR RIPPER in the pandemic-stricken 2020 with the EP Strength in Numbers. Originally released on Bandcamp, Strength in Numbers at last sees a physical release on 7” vinyl courtesy of longtime fans DYING VICTIMS. Picking up exactly where Hellstorm left off but buttressed by clear-yet-crushing production, Strength in Numbers is a swift ‘n’ satisfying statement of metallic D-beat. No more but definitely no less, and of course graced with Grind’s encyclopedic knowledge of both metal and punk, WAR RIPPER’s long-awaited second recording is sure to stoke maniacs of Disfear, Warcollapse, England’s Disgust, later Anti-Cimex, and granddaddies of it all, Discharge.
