Louisiana blackened hardcore miscreants GRIEVINGS have unleashed their latest offering, an EP titled Pyre. This crust-laden release, recorded by the band and mixed/mastered by Trevor Harrison, delivers 12-and-a-half minutes of raw, sludgy blackened hardcore straight from the depths of Lafayette’s underground scene.
Formed out of necessity in 2023, GRIEVINGS quickly carved a niche for themselves within Louisiana’s heavy music community, sharing stages with CAPRA, CHRISTWORM, and a slew of other formidable Bayou Country bands.
Their debut EP, The Endless, laid the groundwork for their chaotic, metallic sound, earning accolades from outlets like Metal Trenches for its “grimey take on hardcore.”
Pyre builds upon this foundation, adding rotting layers of blackened punk that hint at a dark and relentless future. Guitarist/vocalist Rickey Lafleur describes the new material as something that “hits you on a primal level,” capturing the essence of their brutal live performances.
Fans of PORTRAYAL OF GUILT, CULT LEADER, FULL OF HELL, and YOUNG AND IN THE WAY will find much to appreciate in GRIEVINGS’ unrelenting offerings.
The band’s lineup includes Rickey Lafleur on guitars and vocals, Ben Baum on bass, and Dj Lavergne on drums, each bringing their own intensity to the ugly mix.
The EP’s tracks delve into themes as grim and potent as the grim soundscape itself. For those ready to descend into the depths with GRIEVINGS, the full track-by-track commentary awaits.
Sulking
“Sulking” was the first Grievings song written. When this project first started, we were not exactly sure what our sound was going to be. We went back and forth with a couple of song ideas and ended up writing “Sulking.” “Sulking” is about existentialism. It’s about looking for meaning in absolute hopelessness and prevailing.
Sacrificial
“Sacrificial” is probably one of the most black metal-influenced songs we have. The song is about people sacrificing humans to deities for worship. What’s crazy to us is that this is not some ancient concept. Now and then, stories about modern-day human sacrifices will surface in the news. These sacrifices are not just confined to one area either, they happen all over the world.
Damnation
“Damnation” was written from the point of view of the main character from a book called “The Stranger” by Albert Camus. The main character, Meursault, kills a man and the book covers the events leading up to the shooting and its aftermath.
“Damnation” is not so much about the killing, but more so about the parallels of his mom dying and how it relates to his path in life, him being in prison, and getting put to death. “Damnation” is more of the direction that we are looking to go in the future in regards to the overall atmosphere and sound that the song brings.
Pillage
“Pillage” is pretty straightforward. The song is about conquering and pillaging, justified or not. In a specific example, the song can relate to how the Vikings would conquer villages and tribes. In a more general sense, the song can also relate to how we humans naturally have these instincts embedded into us and how some of us choose to act on them. When this song was being written we were still trying to figure out our sound. The writing process ended up being the first half of “Pillage” written by Dj and the second half was written by Rickey.
