The time for revenge has come for Pilori.
As the Rouen-based band celebrates its tenth anniversary, J. (bass), Gu. (drums), R. (guitars), and Gr. (vocals) are also gearing up for another major challenge: the release of their third album, Sans Adieu, on Frozen Records.
The band hits hard right from the first track, Lèse-majesté, which combines dissonance, abrasive sounds, imposing screams, and that ever-oppressive atmosphere that clings to them, exuding an aggressively dark vibe. Their crust roots allow them to develop catchy passages, but what stands out most is this almost theatrical explosion followed by unsettling moments that lead us to the haunting À Pierre Fendre, a heavy and haunting composition that starts off very steady—contrasting with the previous track—but also offers its own bursts of unexpected violence. We move on to Le couteau par la lame, which returns to jerky riffs infused with pure rage, but also to dark tones that give it a bellicose identity, albeit a bit brief, just like Chiendent, which strikes without warning right after it. We find this visceral fury along with icy, almost Old-School Black Metal touches, though this too is short-lived, willingly giving way after a heavy finale to Chaos Rampant, which settles in without warning and assaults us with its own aggressively sharp riffs, daring to use biting harmonics and irregular patterns. The track ends with jarring bursts of Noise-Rock influences, then Sans adieu takes over, offering an unsettling gentleness that prevents us from fully enjoying this moment of calm, and though we remain on guard, nothing will stop La présence des absents from striking in turn, gradually weaving its suffocating atmosphere. The few screeching leads are highly effective at falsely softening the sonic oppression developed by the quartet, which eventually lets us loose on the slow Avant que le vent ne se lève, an overwhelming composition driven by a lively and capricious double pedal, appearing in waves to punctuate riffs that are already heavy enough. Although it comes a bit too early for my taste, the acoustic finale finally lets us catch our breath before we encounter Volontaire, a track that starts off fairly moderately, even including clean vocals that make us fear the worst—but that obviously won’t stop it from arriving and hitting us with small eruptions bordering on Sludge. We also notice a few more melancholic strings, but the final wave of sonic chaos propels us into La rose et l’épine, which immediately embraces its misty tones—tones that in turn cloud our minds—while the shifting rhythm hits us with full force, weaving in an even more dramatic edge before closing out the album.
While Pilori doesn’t deny its wildest and most chaotic influences, the band shows us with Sans Adieu ethereal, heady, and even at times hypnotic swirls to better captivate us. A true delight of grit and violence!
90/100