ALBUM REVIEW: Pessimist – Rile
The band is called RILE. They’re lead by CULT LEADER bassist Sam Richards. Their debut album is called Pessimist, is out on Church Road Records and it’s got CONVERGE’s Kurt Ballou tagged to it as a producer. And look at that artwork, too. All of this should tell you all you need to know about this record, but alas, we have word count requirements here at Distorted Sound, so let us spell this out for you.
In a shock to nobody, Pessimist is as uncompromising and hostile as they come. From the first squealing second of Dead End to the final combusting counts of the title track, RILE put the pedal to the floor and just drive. Vocals writhe and posture on a pitch black backdrop, in which guitars and drums explode like a New Year’s fireworks display, but with the savagery of bombs.
Even when Richards softens his vocals to a whisper on the opening verse of Hidden From Light, it’s done so amidst a maelstrom of twitching math-leaning riffs, before erupting back into that cataclysmic deluge of furious noise that RILE does so well. Or on Stone Tapes, when the vocal performance resembles a peak-Britpop era STONE ROSES (yes, really), it’s neatly folded into blistering drum fills and sinister, creeping guitar and bass lines. Pessimist may only be six tracks long, but RILE are putting their full aural arsenal on display, taking cues from the likes of CONVERGE, TRAP THEM and – unsurprisingly – CULT LEADER. Even when they veer into a rock and roll swagger on Half Love, it’s done so with an air of THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN about it that is stupendous to behold.
Their furious brand of metallic hardcore explicitly illustrates the topical themes of human emotion, inner turmoil and existential struggles. Imagine some poor soul’s innermost thoughts translated into music, with a journal that chronicles their troubles used for the lyrics, and that’s how bleak Pessimist feels. As a listener, you feel like you’re eavesdropping, like a voyeur witnessing a stranger’s worst day.
Climb Out features spasmodic drums that make your skin crawl, refusing to grant any comfort in constantly changing direction, while the title track closes this album in its most grotesque fashion, all ten-tonne riffs and visceral barks. It may not be the most refined or inventive track on Pessimist, but it is a reminder of the ingredients in this pot. It’s as if the whole album has been a restrained show of strength, but now they’ve unleashed themselves and gone straight for the jugular. It’s as if they’re already dangling the carrot for bigger, more brutal things to come.
The bottom line is that Pessimist is a great introduction to a fantastic new band, but you already knew that from its core elements. But it’s their ability to make 30 minutes feel like 15, their ability to terrify and excite in equal measure, their ability to give something this heavy an air of beauty, that makes Pessimist and RILE very special indeed. Recency bias be damned, RILE deserve their flowers in the rapidly approaching end of year lists.
Rating: 9/10
Pessimist is out now via Church Road Records.
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