14th May 2024

Review: “Hellhole” by Rats Will Feast

A long gestating album formulated around twisted song structures alongside desolate and emotional lyrics which deal with the artificiality of the modern world, “Hellhole” is described by Jyväskylä Finland natives Rats Will Feast as Experimental Hardcore. Written largely during the period between 2021 and 2022, it pushes on the sonic boundaries they created with 2020 EP “Songs of a Racehorse” and 2021 stand alone single “Malady“, developing a more destructive and chaotic sound. Exploring personal struggle, naïve anger, despair, alienation, and the desolation of modern life, the promise is of extreme aggression and hallucinatory chaos…

If you had to pick a cut for the opening sequence of a horror movie then you couldn’t go too far wrong with “Penetration” because it’s battery acid nausea inducing eerie swirling sounds are perfectly designed for that purpose. Urgent groove laden Hardcore riffs and rumbling bass replace what sounds like the dance macabre of a violin, dissonant moments sending a chill down the spine as the screams of the caustic violent vocals take hold. It’s a nightmarish vision soaked in blood, sweat and tears that will set off mosh pits for those disturbed enough to embrace its feral darkness. There is a moment of respite that signals something wicked this way comes with the introduction of “None Fated“, a moment of violent turbulence seeing the tempo shift dramatically for a brutal first verse. Chaotic rhythms and pummelling drums bruise but its the dark melodies which disturb, so if you can imagine Deftones playing Knocked Loose covers for s**** and giggles then you might get just one piece of the puzzle. Obviously it’s far more complicate than that as the screeching vocals mixed in with psycho-electric noise tear through the ear drums on “Dog Technology“, the urgency and intensity almost skull splitting. Rats Will Feast refuse to stick to conventional song structures but have plenty of mosh parts in their grand tapestry, charging head first into traffic with Death Metal infused riffs and as much energy as they can put out without spontaneously combusting. The aggression levels reach fever pitch during this one, the attention to detail something that surfaces with nuances over multiple listens. It may seem impossible but with the title track “Hellhole” the Finland natives outdo themselves to the point where they’ve created something almost avant-garde in nature. Emotionally charged and swarmed by buried electronics, the band stand their ground and refuse to buckle under pressure delivering thunderous percussive battery and razor sharp riffs of the rhythmic persuasion.

As an album this one has an incredible drum sound and it needs it with cuts like “Lukewarm Futures” reliant on a backbone of restless and relentless blasting and rapid fire fills. The spoke word in the centre of this one may only be fleeting but it’s enough to add a spice that’s nice without taking away from any of the bullets and octane of the performance as a whole. There is even a enchanting melody of sorts in the heart of this one, underneath the layers of sonic abrasions that serve as an adrenaline rush. Just when you think you have them figured out, Rats Will Feast behave like a page turning psychological thriller novel and take a quirky left turn as “Goodbye John Wayne” introduces touches of Post-Metal. That serves to give the band a broader sound but the track itself remains a violent display of how to commit murder and get away with it by inducing brain haemorrhages with their brutal output. As the blade enters the body, the pain is sharp but it dulls over time to an ache and death becomes clearer though bloodshot eyes. Hangover music melodies swirl in the final moments, something which continues into the Post-Rock fuelled melancholia of “Tourmaline“. That has a spoken word that sounds like a Television in the background before a single verse of scalding vocals that burns like the loss of first love, a beautiful and yet dangerous poison. Capturing that mood and using it as an embellishment, “Replacement” has a freshness as it combines the savage darkness with the dark beauty. The light of Post-Hardcore is blindingly bright on this one but so is the urgency of the rampage and the contrasting styles within the sound are a big part of what makes it seriously infectious, the introspective lyrics driving the nails into the coffin… [8/10]

Track Listing