Feed The Rhino – ‘The Sorrow and the Sound’

By Ben Tipple

Melody has played an increasing part in Kent based hardcore five-piece Feed The Rhino’s sound. Their evolution from the debut ‘Mr Red Eye’ to 2012’s ‘The Burning Sons’ was largely based on an increase in ominous melody, and a breakout from the tried and tested hardcore formula that underpinned a multitude of bands at the time.

On ‘The Sorrow and the Sound’, the band have seemingly completed the evolution they began some years back. The rock and roll inspired hardcore is now spliced between melodic vocal segments and prominent atmospheric soundscapes. Despite running the danger of slowing the pace, these moments – and there are many of them – serve to highlight the sound’s unpredictability. It’s surprising, and ultimately it allows the tracks to build to bigger moments than ever before.

These moments come in all shapes and sizes. The previously released ‘Give Up’ manages to build a catchy hook into a hardcore track brimming with aggressive confidence, undoubtedly soon to be acting as the band’s choice for big audience participation. ‘Behind The Pride’ offers the first glimpse of serious melody which ‘Black Horse’ then takes to a completely new level, seeing the normally extroverted frontman Lee Tobin draw in his vocals in favour of a more reserved sound and a chilling chorus.

Feed The Rhino more prominently demonstrate their balance of eerie compositions and their vocal blend on the title track, which seemingly takes lessons from recent The Dillinger Escape Plan material. Album closer ‘Another Requiem’ perhaps better outlines how this combination of styles can still pack a punch.

‘Sorrow and the Sound’ isn’t the first record to take melody and throw it at a wall of savagery. Perhaps the two closest comparison points lie in bands that have done just that – take Architects or The Dillinger Escape Plan. As with these bands, Feed The Rhino have added a new dimension without distracting from their identity. It’s dark, eerie and introspective, yet it’s packed full with brutal, powerful and even anthemic moments. What starts out as a gentle push becomes enough to knock you off your feet, while a hefty punch to the face switches to a light slap, all at the turn of a riff.

BEN TIPPLE

Three more album reviews for you

Fortune Teller – ‘PREMONITIONS’

While She Sleeps - 'SELF HELL'

USA Nails – ‘FEEL WORSE’