Rise and Fall

Rise And fall are a hardcore band from Belgium formed in 2002 out of the ashes of bands The Deal and Kingpin. One of the more successful European hardcore bands, Rise And Fall have been consistently putting out albums since their conception. Faith is their 4th full-length album.

Right off the bat with this album, you are pelted with some of the heaviest layering your ears have ever heard. The first track, “A Hammer And Nails”, strikes you so hard that your heart will stop briefly. Not many bands can capture chaos like these guys. With no idea of how to waste time, Rise And Fall keep pushing until the end of track 3, “Gallows” where they slow down into a sludgy, memorizing riff so that you can catch your breath from the last few minutes. The album is slowed down for tracks 4, 5 and 6 to give the sense of an interlude. Each song is still drenched in anxiety and emotion but the musical offering is more uplifting and melodic than the rest of the album. These few songs have more in common with 90’s post-hardcore than the modern contemporaries of Mathcore. This album is a rollercoaster of technical proficiency and brilliant song structure. Each song has a purpose and is put into the ideal place in the album. “Hidden Hands” comes in and reignites the fire under the drummer’s feet. This track is non-stop musical violence. “Dead Weight” is possibly one of the strongest hardcore singles of the year. A catchy stomping break, powerful vocal performance and a dynamic guitar solo to bring it to a crashing end. Closing out the album is the 7-minute epic “Faith/Fate”. We hear a very melancholy tone throughout with a very repetitive structure. They go between only a few different time signatures in what seems like a nervous breakdown. You can feel what the vocalist is feeling throughout the song.

The talent that Rise And Fall have for writing is something that people aspire to get their whole lives. This is a masterpiece of metal, hardcore and everything in between. It’s only a couple of months in but this will definitely be on many people’s top album lists when the year is out.

9.3 / 10 — Keenan Harrison