(((((OPENmind/SATURATEDbrain))))): RHA.

Wednesday 19 April 2023

RHA.

Band: RHA.
Genres: Punk / Hardcore / Post-Hardcore / Post-Metal / Metal / Metallic Hardcore / Screamo / Doom / Sludge

Related artists: ?.
Country: Lüneburg GERMANY
Years Active: 2008-present
For fans of: Trainwreck, (early) Baroness, AmenRa, Zann, Fall Of Efrafa, Lentic Waters, Back When, Perth Express, Mesa Verde, Titan, Hope Drone, Omega Massif, Isis, Flirt, I Am A Curse, and June Paik.

Label(s): Self Released / Moment Of Collapse Records / Tief in Marcellos Schuld Records / Désordre Ordonné Records / Aim Down Sight Records / Brückentick Records / Blindman Melodies

I first heard of RHA. through a friend (Hi Alex!) and ended up miscommunicating a trade with Moment Of Collapse that resulted in me finding out about Riah (also sick but a very different style of band). Two or so years later we traded again and I rectified the problem and picked up the 'leben.lassen' 12" for the Zegema Beach Records distro and myself. I was instantly hooked at the sheer ferocity that gives way to excellently restrained post-rock parts, amassing in an epic, cathartic experience. Let's quickly go through the history of their output though.

RHA.'s first, self-titled release 'rha.' came out in 2009 and is a very different beast than today, with all songs clocking in at three minutes or less. This is more straightforward German punk/hardcore/metal with slight screamo leanings (and lots of guitar solos) that goes hella fast, and almost ends up sound ing like Mesa Verde on speed. Not the starting point I'd recommend but for a first release it's very good.

In 2011 the band released 'plus+' (which also ends up on the 'plus+minus-' split with Always Wanted War the following year) focuses primarily on straightforward pummeling metallic hardcore in the vein of Trainwreck and Perth Express, with a few melodic twists and slowdowns, but generally you know what you're getting after the first minute or so.

And then...holy shit and then in 2013 they released one of the best songs ever with the one-sided 12" and 18+ minute behemoth 'refugium' / "refugium". This thing is marks the second iteration of the band's music which is both heavier and crushing, boasting a real ear for building songs and having them climax in the most satisfying possible way. The band's dynamics really shine through as well, with intriguing and discordant sounds being the focal point instead of speed.

2015's '4-Way split' with Lvthn, Paan, and Kratzer houses another lengthy banger by name of "lichtbruch" which is just as epic but much more urgent (save the head-nodding atmospheric midsection) and clocks in at just under 13 minutes. The same year the band's shortest song "bedeutungslos" appeared on the 'Always Wanted War split' double floppy disk which would have felt right at home on an Emo Apocalypse compilation.

After four years the band returned with their absolutely stellar five-track 12" full length titled 'leben.lassen'. This thing is fucking incredible. Opener "inferno" is a whopping 13 minutes and after a four minutes of eerie atmospherics, isolated drum beats, and cavernous bass, it fucking lets loose with a raging lurch into a sound so prodigious it's almost terrifying. There's even a few swings (like 5:40, for example) that turn the macabre into a groove-fest and give the songs an additional level of uniqueness and memorability. "die eigene objektivität ist die größte illusion des menschen" wastes no time with anything other than laying down concise AmenRa/Fall Of Efrafa-esque post hardcore/post-metal with a cataclysmic climax (not unlike early/good Baroness). "zu zweit allein" is both unrelenting and serene, depending on which of the song you happen to be listening to, and closer "krampfhaft" is most reminiscent of the opener as it also reaches the 10-minute mark, but begins in a much more uplifting and tranquil manner before picking up four minutes in. A few songs on here somehow utilize a tremolo riff that sounds like something I'd hear when imagining ancient Egypt, and I fucking love it. I also love the packaging (pictured above).

More RHA. please!

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DISCOGRAPHY

2009 - rha. cassette/12"EP (stream/donate/download here)

2011 - plus+ cd/12"LP (stream/donate/download here)

2012 - plus+minus- (this is 2011's plus+ tracks alongside an Always Wanted War side) cd/12"LP

2013 - refugium. 12" single (stream/donate/download here)

2015 - 4-Way split 12" (w/Lvthn, Paan, and Kratzer) (stream/donate/download here)

2015 - Always Wanted War split double floppy disk (stream/donate/download here)

2019 - leben.lassen 12"LP (stream/buy here)

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(2019) RHA. - "zu zweit allein" (from 'leben.lassen')