Rise After Defeat - Adrift

I would like to welcome aboard Matthieu from the blog Wet Fox
who will give us the occasional review about hardcore, in particular,
bands from Europe. These reviews will be posted on both blogs in
an effort to bring the bands to a greater readership.

Doug E will still be posting his ramblings with no regard for genres,
year released or indeed public taste!

From: Italy

Playing: Dark HxC with big bits of metal

Could sound like: Converge with more hair

Just one song: Awareness

Among other qualities, Rise After Defeat always know how to give a good title to their work. Short, clear but ambiguous, they efficiently express what are the intentions of the band.

"Maieutica" sounded like the torments of birth and the painful (and vain) efforts to find a kind of truth. (by the way: never forget this song).
"Pragmatica" kept to the violence but felt like something they had to do, the unavoidable step to go through in order to get further. But where?
"Adrift" is pretty explicit about it: the Sardinian crew is leaving the coast and is ready to face the open sea.

The boat is the same: claustrophobia and madness; the crew didn't change: the riffs are heavy as lead, the rhythm section oscillates between epilepsy and thunder rumblings, the voices sound like obnoxious barkings and the lyrics won't make your day brighter. Or: everything you need to bang your head under the power of the music without forgetting that madmen use to do the same against the walls of their cell.
Except you can't bang your head for ever. If you want to keep your brain within your skull and prevent insanity from eating what's left of it, you have to get more clever. So, more vicious.

That's why Rise After Defeat chose to turn their back on the land and go away to face the ocean.

Their hardcore is still dark and hectic, but it sounds and feels deeper. The surface is restless, but the waves are bigger. More frightening. No more short bursts of violence and despair crashing against the rocks. But the water seems colder, and no way of lying to yourself when you look around: only isolation and absence of hope.

Rise After Defeat clearly tried to explore new territories (for them). They gave their songs more space and time, which turns the claustrophobia into a sonic neurosis skillfully built and fed, thanks to well chosen detours via black metal, sludge and even stoner. The band were right to go fishing other dark waters. They managed to upgrade their hardcore to create wider land(sea)scapes, not necessarily more complex, but definitely more controlled.
A good surprise, an interesting evolution, a strong album.

the bandcamp. / the site. / the facebook. / the big cartel.

the objectivity?

- for the kids (IT)   - soundmagazine (IT)

Matthieu