Wednesday 5 October 2016

REVIEW: Ilenkus - "Hunger" (EP)

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: EP
Date Released:  19/10/2016
Label: Independent

 
 
Ilenkus deliver a whirlwind blur of off-kilter riffage, pummelling blast beats and finger-mangling fretboard gymnastics.  Once the dust settles you will feel battered and bruised, but with a nagging urge to subject yourself to the pain all over again. 
 
“Hunger” DD track listing
 
1). Hunny Bunny
2). Pretty Secret
3). Exhume
4). The Romantic
 
The Review:
 
Galway quintet Ilenkus deliver an impressive riffs-per-minute ratio on new EP “Hunger”. The band tears through four tracks of breathless mathematical mayhem in just under fifteen minutes. Once the dust settles you will feel battered and bruised with a nagging urge to subject yourself to the pain all over again.
 
Hunny Bunny” starts proceedings with a whirlwind blur of off-kilter riffage, pummelling blast beats and finger-mangling fretboard gymnastics. The effect is like a more ragged Dillinger Escape Plan with their clinical precision blunted by ugly sludged-up fury. “Exhume” is a similarly intense affair opening with a wild collision of blown out post-rock and grindcore worthy of Cult Leader. From there things take a progressive turn into weirder, spacier territory without relenting on the vitriol.
 
Even when Ilenkus slow the tempo, there is no let-up in heaviness and complexity. “Pretty Secret” opens with a crushing needle-skip chug before exploring quieter sections of restless math-rock. This builds to a lumbering, doom finale that provides the EP’s most punishing moment. “The Romantic” sees the band dabble in churning noise rock groove, shards of serrated guitar providing an odd respite before the track once again plunges into a cauldron of molten rage.
 
Hunger” is an exhilarating ride that takes in more twists and turns than most bands squeeze into a career. Hopefully it won’t be too long before Ilenkus return with an album of glorious chaos.
 
Hunger” will be available here
 
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