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Bind Torture Kill's Killer “Chacal”

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Between the breakup of the Dillinger Escape Plan and the resurgence of Converge with the monstrously acclaimed The Dusk in Us, times are certainly not dull in post-hardcore. Within the context of such tumult, it’d be quite the feat for a rising band to release a crushing, impactful post-hardcore record poised to grip the ears and minds of listeners. It’s quite another feat to craft such an album, one relying so heavily on the weight of its instrumentation, with a sole guitar as the only melodic contributor. Through innovative songwriting as well as savvy production — one guitar + three amps + oodles of pedals = two guitarists and a bassist — the unsavorily named French trio Bind Torture Kill have birthed one of the genre’s most exciting and forward-thinking records in recent memory with their second full-length Viscères.

As implied by the band’s morbid moniker, the music of Bind Torture Kill falls firmly on the blackened side of their genre: Viscères is filled with smoldering wickedness. Have a listen with an exclusive premiere of the album’s penultimate track “Chacal” below.

Bind Torture Kill’s songwriting is ruthlessly efficient while also teeming with nuance, blending the rhythmic dexterity of System of a Down with the savage bleakness of genre contemporaries Lo!. After a brief intro showcasing the finesse of drummer Benjamin Garçon, the band plunges into a series of nimble riffs that are as furiously heavy as they are musically intriguing. Soon, as many post-hardcore songs do, the track transitions into a half-time breakdown. Even here, guitarist Yann Alexandre keeps things interesting with plenty of movement and syncopation under vocalist Olivier Alexandre’s piercing howls.

— Ivan Belcic

Bind Torture Kill’s impressively tight performances on “Chacal” carry over through the entirety of Viscères, which is set to release via WOOAAARGH on January 26th in both vinyl and digital formats.