Rigorous Institution: Cainsmarsh
Back in pre-plague times, I noted that listening to Rigorous Institution was like having your skull cleaved in two while you're super high on glue. The point I was trying to make is that the PDX punks expertly blend jagged, axe-wielding riffs with Hawkwindian atmospherics. However, while Rigorous Institution tick all the appropriate crust punk boxes, there's also plenty more magick and mystery to the band.
That's readily apparent on the group's full-length debut, Cainsmarsh, which underscores Rigorous Institution's genius at fusing primordial, paranoiac, and psychedelic sounds. Maybe that sounds a little highfalutin' for a bunch of raggedy-ass crusties. But you can definitely appreciate Rigorous Institution's aesthetic choices on several different levels.
Case in point, if you're hungry for a shedload of unwashed stenchcrust, Cainsmarsh's 11 filthy tracks will undoubtedly satisfy your needs. The album's thundering songs are as dirty as well-worn shitkickers. But Rigorous Institution also spice things up by adding plenty of tripped-out weirdness into the mix. Eccentricity is an essential factor in the band's sound. Rigorous Institution's previous (and, FYI, highly recommended) EPs — The Coming of the Terror, Penitent, and Survival / Despotism — are all stacked with stench-driven stonk. But brain-frying visions, drawn from Dark Age nightmares, are also ever-present.
Cainsmarsh is unquestionably grim, but the album's grimness is also what makes it a bulldozing success. The fact is, it's awful out there. The world is an inextinguishable dumpster fire, and hope and trust were butchered many moons ago. No one's going to misinterpret Rigorous Institution's songs as happy-go-lucky anthems. However, the band's bleak-toned tales provide catharsis, and even a sense of camaraderie. Sure, Rigorous Institution traverse a few terrorscapes, and yeah, things get awfully fucking dark along the way. But it still feels real good to crank the volume on tracks that summon myriad horrors. Mainly because making those horrors manifest means Rigorous Institution also help to purge them on frequently fist-raising songs.
Cainsmarsh's title track and "Fever (City)" were released shortly before the album proper. Both songs conjure apocalyptic peril, and their hulking riffs and eldritch-like energy call to mind pivotal progenitors (and clear influences) like Deviated Instinct, Axegrinder, and Amebix. Much like peak-era Amebix, Rigorous Institution radiate a foreboding aura. But where Amebix specialised in brooding tales from windswept moors, Rigorous Institution are more akin to mutant marauders birthed in the swamplands. (Think the Creature from the Black Lagoon and the Toxic Avenger covering Zygote.)
Like many well-versed crust ensembles, Rigorous Institution also convey the fevered psychosis and the berserker tempo of early Killing Joke; see heavy hitting Cainsmarsh tracks like "Nuclear Horses" and "Earthrise". Elsewhere, "The Terror" pays tribute to a host of shadowy synth-lords of yore. And it's well worth noting that the synthesiser plays a crucial role throughout Cainsmarsh, underpinning scores of gloomy scenes.
Heaving tracks like "Tempt Fate... And Win!, "Laughter", "Criminal Betrayers", and "Ergot" are constructed from bruising instrumentation. They hit hard, in a familiar heavyweight crust fashion, but like many of Rigorous Institution's songs, they also scratch a more unique itch. The truth is, the band aren't toying with any rare components. Production-wise, killer contemporaries like Alement or Swordwielder operate in a similarly raw yet punchy (i.e. head-meets-axe) sphere. Rigorous Institution's basic recipe is relatively simple too. They mix gravelled vocals with blunt-force riffs and battering bass and percussion, and then they shroud the lot in a fittingly morbid ambience. What adds the crucial extra flavour to Cainsmarsh is where and when Rigorous Institution decide to inject deviant psychedelia or equally warped anarcho-punk or post-punk into their dense, cranium-splintering dirges.
Cainsmarsh ends with the sub-2-minute burst of guttural noise, "Hungry Dogs III (The Feral Hunt)", which finishes things off on a fittingly unnerving note. If you're a fan of classic stenchcrust, there's a lot to love about Cainsmarsh. Rough-hewn noise abounds, and there's plenty of Hell-hammering primitivism to enjoy. The album's familiar (and reliably deafening) ingredients tip their hat to the old guard often enough. However, Rigorous Institution aren't copy-catting anyone, and Cainsmarsh delivers strongly realised songwriting all on its own.
It's Cainsmarsh's idiosyncrasies that secure its status as one of 2022's best punk releases. Time and again, the album underscores Rigorous Institution's intuitive skill (and core strengths) when it comes to writing songs that are as mind-bending as they are mind-crushing. On one level, Cainsmarsh features all the sonic and emotional heft that rock-solid crust often provides. But that's just the starting point for Rigorous Institution. The band are more adventurous than most. But their creative experimentation never comes at the expense of their power, prowess, or gut-felt desire to deliver a skull-splitting good time.
I've been a diehard fan of Rigorous Institution since I heard the band's first EP. If that means I'm blatantly biased, so be it. But, for me, Cainsmarsh is a top-tier AOTY contender. It's not just one of my favourite stench/crust albums from this year; it's one of my favourite albums for years. I couldn't recommend Cainsmarsh highly enough.
PS: Cainsmarsh is out via the always interesting Portland, Oregon label Black Water Records. Keep an eye out for the full-length debut from punk crew Decomp, which will also be released by Black Water Records very soon. FYI: I'll definitely be writing about Decomp's first LP when it turns up on Bandcamp.
