Pilori is back with a new album.
Since its creation in Rouen in 2016, the band composed of R. (guitar), Gu. (drums), Gr. (vocals) and J. (bass) is quite regular in its releases: a demo the same year, a split in 2018, followed by a first studio album in 2020, then Quand Bien Même L’Enfer et le Déluge S’abattraient sur Nous comes out in 2022.
For those who may have forgotten, the band expresses itself with violence, and De Guerre Lasse, the first track, will remind us with a mix of Crust, Grindcore and Sludge. The double kick mixes with massive screams, and the only lulls are populated with a dark and heavy dissonance, letting oppression drive us to Meurtrière and its catchy rhythmic. There are also crazy harmonics coupled with this effective basis, while Entre Chien et Loup offers a slightly more groovy sound, which perfectly fits this angry Hardcore basis. We find a disturbing contrast with the metallic melodies which close the track, then raw rage takes over with Maelström, a very short composition. Heaviness and pure aggression melt to strike us for less than a minute before giving way to Quand Bien Même L’Enfer et le Déluge S’abattraient sur Nous, the eponymous track, which couples an energetic Grindcore-rooted rhythmic with the sharpest elements the band knows to develop. The darker notes create an unhealthy and macabre atmosphere before the surprisingly sweet final, and then Une Livre de Chair returns to Black Metal sounds on this grimy and frantic basis. Energetic patterns are also part of the fury, just like on Où Gisent les Ancres and its cold riffs. But again, the track is short, and it quickly gives way to the equally short Au Prix de Tous les Sacrifices which doesn’t waste a moment to flood us with blast and massive riffs coupled with vindictive screams. En Haut des Cimes revives the hypnotic melodies without denying aggressiveness, creating a wave of throbbing and heavy sounds completed by massive drums, then the soaring final guides us to …et le Déluge, the last track, which will close the album with an unusual melodic darkness which relies on a slow tempo and a hypnotic heaviness.
Pilori‘s sound is still aggressive and raw, that’s for sure. But there is some diversity on Quand Bien Même L’Enfer et le Déluge S’abattraient sur Nous, which lets dissonant and haunting melodies answer to massive riffs.
90/100