Rile - Pessimist

2023-10-23 07:00:42

Cautious, destructive: in and around Salt Lake City Rile make a name for yourself within a very short space of time. The quartet around members of Cult Leader impressed with powerful, energetic live performances; their first two songs were mixed by scene icon Kurt Ballou (Converge), among others. His band’s sound is one of several references for this oppressive mix of hardcore and metal – sometimes deep black and crusty, then punky and full of atmosphere. The first album now lands at Church Road Records „Pessimist“.

The final title track sums up the US band’s skillfully fucked-up madness. Crust-heavyness, a bit of blackened hardcore, martial start-stop attacks, plus the finest caesuras – the mixture wears on the nerves in the most pleasant sense, turns the wheel completely and shoots through the scenery with growing enthusiasm. As the game progresses, the events seem to become more orderly, but “Pessimist” gets lost in noise loops – until the bitter, endlessly extended, completely crazy ending with a painful blandness.

Another centerpiece is “Stone Tapes,” which shows a different side of Rile in seven and a half minutes. Meditative midtempo and clear vocals play with post-hardcore, with metallic experiments, caught between gauze and post. But that doesn’t mean the quartet is radio-friendly: “Dead End” loves chaos, repeatedly delves into math areas and dismantles everything that gets in its way. A “Hidden From The Light” can also have atmosphere, but there are rough mid-tempo hits around the deliberately ponderous arrangement.

What Rile create here over the length of the album is quite grueling, but should, among other things, delight fans of Trap Them, who dissolved much too early. “Pessimist” is about to take a wide variety of hardcore fringe genres and combine them with incredible energy. The constant inscrutability of existence puts you in a good mood, the surprisingly melodic interludes in between make your eyebrows rise. Purely musically, the Americans have the quality to tear everything down, to create well-being, or to confuse in an almost progressive way. Wherever the journey takes you, in this form you like to stay on the ball.

Rating: 8/10

Available from: October 27, 2023
Available via: Church Road Records

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