Hailing from Salt Lake City and formed by Cult Leader bassist Sam Richards, Rile are a band with fine credentials who have recently landed on the Church Road Records roster and have created a solid debut for the UK label, which unashamedly takes inspiration from Converge, Trap Them and the like.
Much like the Atlanta band’s name is a mocking twist on the Dallas Cowboys, their take on metalcore is a mocking twist on the genre. Normally this sort of thing is not my personal taste, and I write it off as MySpace metal, however these guys have perverted in such a manner that it appeals to me. They are aggressive yet highly skilled in the mathematics of their contorted riffing.
Hailing from the city of Drammen in Norway, Kambodsja describe the alignment of their own sounds as indie-prog-punk-metal, with a touch of post-hardcore and math rock. Think of the Swedish legends Refused, but converged altogether with elements of good old ‘70s prog rock as well as influences from a wide range of artists from Manic Street Preachers to And So I Watch You From Afar. Refusing to conform to certain conventional musical dogmas, the sounds that Kambodsja present happen to be ever-transcendent and all-around eclectic; making the creative process of their music not limited to conforming to certain genre boundaries but rather, making it about intricate explorations.