Relapse is proud to welcome Bay Area death metal legion RIPPED TO SHREDS to the roster. Founded in 2016 as a one man band by Andrew Lee, the 2018 release of debut album ‘埋葬 (Mai-Zang)’ was met with success across the death metal underground. Their most recent album, ‘亂 (Luan)’ landed across several year end lists, including Decibel Magazine’s top 40 of 2020. RIPPED TO SHREDS was recently revealed to play at this year’s upcoming Decibel Metal and Beer Fest LA.
RIPPED TO SHREDS will release their Relapse debut and third full-length album in 2022. The band are currently streaming a brand new song, “燒冥紙 (Sacrificial Fire),” via the Decibel Flexi Series HERE. Decibel says “this exclusive new track showcases the now signature brutal-yet-melodic take on the old school style from this upstart international death metal machine.”
Regarding the signing, RIPPED TO SHREDS comment: “We’re all very excited to be a part of Relapse’s roster, since Relapse has meant so much to our early journeys through extreme music. We’re also excited to be one of the first all Asian-American bands signed to Relapse, since the Asian-American experience informs the entire concept of Ripped to Shreds. The Bay Area is rich with Asian talent in the hardcore scene, with massive bands like Sunami and Gulch drawing droves of other Asian Americans to shows; we hope to do the same for death metal in the Bay. Our new record will showcase the same chainsaw death metal/grind as we’ve always done, with a bit of a Finndeath twist this time around, as well as the fastest blasting we’ve ever managed to extract out of our drummer. We’ll work him until his hands fall off.”
More info:
In 2019, RIPPED TO SHREDS signed to Singapore’s Pulverised Records, releasing a conceptual EP titled ‘魔經 – Demon Scriptures’ with all lyrics written in Mandarin, followed by live performances in Taiwan with session members.
In 2020, RIPPED TO SHREDS released their second album ‘亂 (Luan),’ gaining greater attention, landing Decibel Magazine’s top 40 records of 2020 at #15. The band then brought on Ryan Cavaleras of Doomsday (bass) and Brian Do of Spinebreaker (drums) for a full lineup based in California. Andrew also penned a viral editorial for Decibel, decrying anti-Asian racism that had emerged into the public eye throughout the course of the COVID pandemic. In 2021 RTS put out two singles, one featured on the Metal Blade Records compilation Metal Massacre 15 and a new song “燒冥紙 (Sacrificial Fire)” for Decibel Magazine’s Flexi Series.
Online:
facebook.com/rippedtoshredsband
instagram.com/rippedtoshredsdeathmetal
twitter.com/rippedtoshreds4
rippedtoshredsdeathmetal.bandcamp.com