Review: Chat Pile ‘Cool World’
Hailing from Oklahoma in the US, Chat Pile seem to be on a mission. A voyage into the darkness within ourselves, to drag forth a nightmarish apocalyptic thunderstorm, the likes of which will leave us forever more scared to the very pit of our souls. Formed in 2019, the band have returned, fresh off the back of their 2022 debut Gods Country, with a follow-up designed to pummel your insides and leave a bloody mess.
Finding a suitable arena to place the band in is no easy feat, as the band encompass elements from so many splintered genres, it is hard to compartmentalise them properly. In part, they are abrasive industrial, yet with a filthy great splattering of sludge and dirty punk sensibilities in the dynamics. Industro-punk seems to be an eloquent tag, the band are that niche and even though it feels like something familiar, by the same token, it’s nowhere near any real standard collective.
Sound wise, if looking for similar artists, then it wouldn’t be the biggest stretch to drop The Body, Big Black, and Drive Like Jehu into the discussion. While not sounding exactly like any of those mentioned, there are dynamics which are parallelled, most specifically intensity.
With Cool World we see the band in an oppressively nasty demeanour, wanting to address the state of the world in 2024. It’s as ugly as the world seems to be right about now, and I guess this provides the perfect soundtrack to a planet on an axis of self-destruction unless things start to change.
Over the course of the ten tracks, one thing becomes abundantly clear right from the offset, this isn’t a ride you will happily endure. Every bit as dank as the subject matter, this will have you slowly engulfed in rage against the system.
I Am Dog Now drags us in, giving no opportunity for escape. From the opening bars, this abrasive masterwork is as caustic as it is visceral. Thunderous basslines entwined with pummelling percussion provide the perfect backdrop for the filthy guitar vitriol. Just when you think this is going to be as intense as it may get, the inclusion of the venomous vocal passages are absolutely ear-shattering. Beautifully awkward and disjointed, the band use every little jagged splinter to create something which is impossible to turn away from. This is a true sign of things to come, and at no point after this does it ever give up its intensity.
With tracks two and three comes more of the same. Scathing bloody bile atop a wall of amplified venom. The equivalent of drinking caustic soda, the acidic rot will eat away at your senses until you are a bloody mess. Where Shame is an aggressive and unfiltered attack to the ears, Frownland is somewhat sleazier. Still hard-edged, this four-minute bass-driven industrial punk is a showcase of what makes Chat Pile so terrifying.
Scathing bloody bile atop a wall of amplified venom…
With tracks four and five, Funny Man and Camcorder we catch the band at their pinnacle in my view. The former changes things up and yet remains intense, it feels like a more upbeat, jovial side to the band, which isn’t as apparent elsewhere on the opus. While the latter is the cherry on the cake. An incredible six and a half minutes of pure, unfiltered, unadulterated spit and piss. Reminiscent of Tar Pond, this chuggy, sludgy masterclass elevates the whole experience tenfold. It’s dirty, sludgy, and grimy, with thick basslines, it’s sonically impossible to wade through.
It’s hard to match that vibe, but as the album plays on, there are still plenty more surprises to be had as Tape returns us to the patterns of the earlier tracks, visceral and hard, before The New World drags us down into a murkier realm altogether.
A gloomy and pensive opening unfolds into a far darker tone, and as the track progresses, it has a far more morose nature. With hard and obnoxious outbursts, it truly encapsulates exactly who’s running the show here. Brutal, I don’t think there’s any other word for it, devastatingly brutal.
Milk Of Human Kindness is another hit at something truly special. Despairingly sombre, the fuller moments of sound are intense and laced with sludgy goodness. The dark basslines compact the abrasiveness and dankness, while the vocal encases the sound sublimely. It’s these moments which grab me the most.
As No Way Out finishes off the album, it’s far from over, in fact, it feels like it’s the start of the next round of pummelling. Showing no signs of dropping off, the sound is as intense as previous tracks, and right up to the final moments we, the listener, feel somewhat punished for our sins.
Abrasively unique, sludgy industro-punk to see 2025 in with, hell yeah, now’s the time. An essential addition to any collection, this is the real deal.
Label: The Flenser
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Lee Beamish
