HUNGRY LIKE RAKOVITZ – Pious

vote
7.5

After a silence that lasted years, at least on a strictly recording level, Hungry Like Rakovitz return with “Pious”, an album that marks their renewed commitment to the extreme hardcore scene. The Lombard band, which had left its mark with works such as “The Cross is not Enough” and “Nevermind the Light”, today resumes the stylistic discussion left pending, but with a slightly recalibrated approach. If the previous work, in particular, was an explosion of dark hardcore with strong black metal temptations, here we find a band that all in all seems to be looking for a different type of balance, balancing a certain iconoclastic ferocity with an updated attention to structure and dynamics of compositions.
The album opens with the devastating “We Don't Write Love Songs”, which acts as a manifesto of the group's new direction: a truly valid song which presents all the key elements of the boys' sound, with particular emphasis on riffs that dig above all into the varied hardcore heritage of the group. The 'problem' of certain so-called blackened hardcore bands is often the lack of focus on the riffs, to favor a smokier mood which, in the long run, rather than malice, can inspire boredom and a sense of carelessness that derives from a superficial and stereotyped rereading of the genre . For Hungry Like Rakovitz the issue has always been different, precisely because, today more than ever, suggestions from the late 1990s or early 2000s come into play which give the whole thing greater punch and substance. Here, obscurity is a tool for building dynamics, not a gimmick to mask the lack of ideas. Perhaps also due to a fuller and more powerful production than ever, the album, starting from this opener, seems to recall a mix between the sounds of the past and a more frequent nod to a certain technical and stretched hardcore/metalcore that can recall Botch, certain Zao and the very first Norma Jean.
The central part of the work, however, still maintains some echoes of the band's black metal influences, with tracks such as “A lot of Fun” and “We March To The Off Beat Of Our Drums” which bring icy and oppressive airs. However, here too there is a slight change in priority: these forays into the deep black are more contained, almost as if they wanted to create a counterpoint rather than represent the heart of the project.
A clear example of Hungry Like Rakovitz's ability to synthesize is “Permanent Damnation”, one of the most representative episodes of the album. The piece is a journey that embraces all facets of the band's sound, with a dynamic construction that culminates in a lilting and overwhelming finale. It's a closing that leaves its mark, where the physical power of the groove marries perfectly with a sense of drama that keeps the tension high until the last second.
The result, after careful listening, is in short an album that breathes, alternating tense and immediately impactful moments with more controlled and reflective sections, for a dynamic tracklist, which consolidates the direction of the group and which soon demonstrates that there is no need to exaggerate the atmospheres to evoke power and darkness: you just need to know how to calibrate the ingredients with reason and vision. In short, a work that relaunches the band's 'career' after many years of relative silence. If in addition to the names mentioned you love the old The Secret or bands like Integrity and Ringworm, a highly recommended listen.