The Rendering – Protector

A while ago the modest little EP, Protector, by Glengale hardcore outfit The Rendering, managed to sneak its way into regular rotation on my playlists.  I don’t fall for hardcore easily, but something really makes the ambitious five-piece stand out. It’s tough to pinpoint, but The Rendering has managed to create a raw, visceral experience that doesn’t simply rely on blanket screaming for intensity.

In other words, The Rendering understands that when creating true anger in sound, they must explore a wide variety of related emotions.  It’s one thing for vocalist Eric Van Acker to belt his gutteral cries with a dark precision, but it’s another thing entirely for him to back off and let the music take over for his tongue.  The effect might find comparison in the late ISIS, although to be sure, Protector is a tad more modest.

“Come Home” serves as a personal highlight and one of the album’s best examples of scope.  Riffs crunch in the backdrop as a clean guitar opens the track to Van Acker’s cries.  He then shares vocal duties with an uncredited band member’s cookie monster growls before retreating for a brief moment of reflection.  Upon return, haunting music box chimes stand in for the once dominant guitar, giving way to a quickening tempo and brief but atmospheric instrumental featuring industrial electronics.  Speaking of instrumentals, The Rendering has to be one of the few hardcore outfits I’ve encountered with the foresight to slide in an interlude on an EP, and they’re better for it.

Not surprisingly, there are many other noteworthy moments.  For example, on tracks like “Taken” and “Thanks A Mil” dual guitarists Aaron Nichols and Dan Marianro experiment with tempos as they shift between gut wrenching breakdowns, moody lows, and sudden explosions of speed.  Furthermore, on the title track drummer Danny Cook packs a punch by complimenting some really desolate industrial moments.  Together, these subtleties make for an EP where each track retains its own unique fingerprint.

Needless to say, more hardcore bands should take a nod from The Rendering.  As Protector demonstrates, if you want to communicate anger, you need a reference point.  Simply grinding to a halt and shouting into the mic only gets you so far.  Consequently, their willingness to back off and let subtle industrial noises take over shows a band that values creativity and has no issue straying from the mould.  The Rendering might be a newcomer to the hardcore scene, but they’re already wise beyond their years.