Founded in 2016, Rouen France's Pilori have been cultivating a dark amalgam of genre blending music as well as building quite the résumé of European shows with bands such as Full Of Hell, Implore, Whoresnation, Blockheads, Harm Done, The Body, Oathbreaker, Cult Leader, Fange, Plebeian Grandstand and tons more. (Quick aside: one of my old bands had the pleasure of opening for Plebeian Grandstand at a taco restaurant in Dallas that was criminally under-attended. It was awkward to say the least.) But as subtly diverse as all those bands are, Pilori pairs well with all them. The band isn't so much grindcore as they are more of a blackened hardcore. Not too dissimilar to bands like All Pigs Must Die and Baptists and could easily fit in on a label like Southern Lord Records. Pilori borrow just as much from hardcore and grindcore as from sludge and black metal, even brief nuances of nu-metal and punk. Pilori's first full length, À Nos Morts, debuted last summer in 2020 and rumbled forth its looming storm of grinding blackened hardcore into a dismal world that would only become more dismal because of it.
Atmospherically, Pilori casts a spell of foreboding gloom and an HM2 haze that hangs thick over À Nos Morts' almost 24 minute run time. Each song is drenched in distortion, dripping with feedback and simmering with hate. (The band doesn't state their names in the liner notes. Instead opting to remain as shadowed necromancers that choose to have their music speak for itself, so they offer only mere initials assigned to instruments.) Guitarist R. conjures up a surprisingly layered array considering that he is the band's only guitarist. Dissonant, warm, earthy undertones that whirl around heavy, cold, crushing palm mutes. The majority of the black metal influence is hidden in these spiraling leads that siren high above the songs; supplying melodic dreariness and trumpeting angst. These chords embody the gothic feel of tolling bells, wavering organ pipes and are the cornerstone of Pilori's atmospheric witchery. Simultaneously, bassist D.'s bass lines steadily rumble underneath like an idling engine and are surprisingly audible. R. and D.'s metal chugs, punk riffs and hardcore beat-downs all combine to create some unquestionably thick guitar work. You can tell that emphasis was put on the heaviness in the mix.
That emphasis evolves into something more under the helm of drummer Gu. as he steers the songs seamlessly in and out of metallic-hardcore sprints and whirlwind blackout blast beats. Then navigating the sludgier parts with skillful fills and double bass gallops that prevent things from stagnating. From stop/starts to tempo breaks, the evolution finds a name and that name is "syncopation."
This syncopation is Pilori's greatest attribute. It positions the songs on the LP, especially on side A, in an uniquely aggressive stance. Songs like "La Grande Terreur" and "Roi Des Rats" are lurching beasts. Soldiering forth like a stalking Roman army delivering quick raids of violent pillaging breakdowns. It's the quality of the band's songwriting that shines the most and is an aspect that they are comfortable enough with to exploit to their advantage. This is at play most in the album's second track, "Apnée." The song starts out like a snapping dog before being reigned in with the jerking stomps of an Andronician march.
If songs like "Apnée" are the biting teeth of a hackle-raised dog then vocalist Gr. is the lashing bark. A ravenous, foam-mouthed centurion commanding the punchy guitars and pounding drums. His crust punk barks are steeped in the same haze of distortion that the guitar is. Which, at times, can get overshadowed in the thicker moments. But still, Pilori goes a step further with the use of gang vocals that come off somewhere between the chanting incantations of an evil cult and the fanatical roar of a crowded coliseum. À Nos Morts features guest vocals by Full Of Hell's Dylan Walker on the track "Que la Bête Meure" as well as Matthias Jungbluth from Fange/Calvaiire on "Poursuite Du Vent." The collaborations only add to the cerberus of the vocal choir.
The tide shifts with the titular track, "À Nos Morts." A somber instrumental that pendulums back and forth through an ambient fog of ringing feedback. The track marks the end of Side A and brings us the second half of the album. Unfortunately this ending stretch is not as dynamic as the previous. The song writing definitely leans more towards the sludgier influences of the band's hardcore sound. For the most part the songs are slower and longer from here on out. Despite "Divine Comédie" being one of the more grindcore influenced songs, side B doesn't possess the same magick as side A. I'm not sure if this was intentional in the album's composition or a coincidence. But the latter half of À Nos Morts returns almost out of breath in a way. There's a lack of balance overall. And there's lack of urgency compared to those introductory songs. Save maybe for one, "Sous Mes Mains." The album's ninth track, "Sous Mes Mains" might be one of the most interesting songs on the LP. It certainly encompasses all the genres that Pilori is working with. The opening track, "Que la Bête Meure," was promoted as the band's flagship song of sorts with a music video and guest vocals. But as good as the song is, it's unbalanced. While "Sous Mes Mains" might not be as explosive, it is harmonious.
Criticism aside, Pilori's À Nos Morts is a great sounding debut full-length. It's a solid mix and master by Cyrille Gachet at Dick Doom Studios and Brad Boatright at Audiosiege. It's a heavy release that is as eclectic as it is well performed. As a grindcore album it might be lacking in blast beats and speed, but at the same time that's not what it's claiming to be. As a metal or a hardcore album it stands taller because of the grindcore. So you can see the appeal. This should be well received among a wide variety of listeners. Pilori has a dark, sorrowing atmosphere and doom laden mysticism that they have combined with a a series of subgenres to create a crushing release. À Nos Morts is a matter-of-fact take on a sound that is comprised of several different styles and as a result it creates one of its own. I'm interested in what future releases might hold for the group and which, if any, influences might rise to the forefront.
FFO: Esoteric Youth, Full Of Hell, The Secret, Napalm Death
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