I don't review demos all that often, but I'd be remiss if I missed the opportunity to delve into the first offering from Durham, North Carolina based Rale. This little nugget of insanity oozes with grind-ridden death metal sensibility. With layered back-up vocals grinding their way into your ears, this demo is sure to please fans of bands like Coffin Rot, Sanguisugabogg and Witch Vomit. The guitars have a sewer-ridden crunchy distortion that I can't get enough of.
The current lineup for the band is as follows: Dylan Glotzer on guitar; Lindsey Glotzer on vocals; Keith Kozeika on guitar and backup vocals; Vassia Kouprianov on drums and Ian Worz championing the bass and backup vocals as well. I had the pleasure of communicating with Ian and he graciously answered a few questions about the band, their demo as well as plans for the future.
Wicked Metal Review: When did Rale form?
Ian: The band formed throughout 2019, starting in the spring as a recording project between Keith (Guitar) and myself and slowly becoming a full-fledged band as Dylan (Guitar) joined and then with his wife, Lindsey (Vox) shortly following. We played, with a couple of drummers who didn’t work out, and then Lindsey recruited Vassia on drums (they play together in a grind outfit called Basura).
WMR: I see you're based out of Durham, have you been playing any shows or plans to tour at all?
Ian: We’ve been playing-out in Raleigh with bands like Noctomb, Nighthag, Arghast and Hubris. We’ve been planning a regional mini-tour in mid-June, but under current circumstances with Covid-19, who knows whether or not that will come together.
WMR: Do you have any main influences for your sound?
Ian: I know Keith comes very much out of the OSDM camp, I’d guess Morbid Angel and Bolt Thrower are his biggest influences. I try to bring some Gorguts weirdness to the table.
WMR: Does Rale have a main songwriter, or is it a collaborative effort?
Ian: Keith is the primary architect when it comes to raw songwriting, but all of us contribute our own parts and work out any structural issues.
WMR: What can we expect from Rale looking forward to 2020 and beyond?
Ian: After finishing the demo, we’re ready to dive into developing more material. Beyond that, hopefully we can play locally and hit the road once this pandemic is under control. We have a show scheduled for March 27th with Crusadist, but I imagine it will be cancelled.
Thank you again, Ian, for taking the time to answer a few questions! Back to the demo, I've listened to it about 30 times now and it's a very promising release. If you're a fan of OSDM, I do highly recommend keeping an eye on them. Rale's crushing intensity is sure to takeover in the south-eastern region of the United States at a rapid pace.
Normally I'd link their social media here, but as they don't have any at this time I'll suggest signing up for their mailing list on Bandcamp so you get the latest news.