The ballad of Pist.On according to RNRF:
Everything old is new again, right? I first stumbled upon Brooklyn’s Pist.On while going to college in Boston. I was ending my first year in the Spring of 1996 which produced some mighty fine albums which, in turn, was cause for an especially busy time (for me) in the vibrant rawk club scene down on Landsdowne St. Having fallen in love with Life Of Agony after hearing “Through And Through” on Headbanger’s Ball, I jumped at the chance to see them at Axis on a headlining run in support of sophomore album, Ugly. Supporting them was Clutch, whom I’d already seen and loved, and some band called “pist.on”. Being a broke, underage college kid not interested in drinking at the time and too poor to linger at the merch booth, I made my way up to the front and was treated to the sonic soliloquies of Brooklyn’s Pist.On who kinda blew me away. As a HUGE Type O Negative fan, I was enthralled by both the heaviness and the harmonies displayed live and later, on record, when I eventually tracked down their debut album Number One (Coincidentally, produced by TON’s own Josh Silver).
Needless to say, I was hooked.
Though I never was able to check them out live again I followed their career as best I could in the early Internet/pre-streaming years (Mostly through my most favorite British Metal rags like Kerrang!) to the point of specifically asking the future Mrs RNRF to pick up their sophomore record, $ell Out, while she was studying abroad as it would take a little extra time to get to the States.
Tl;dr- Brooklyn’s Pist.On put out two pretty stellar records, went on an extended hiatus, returned.
And now they’re back with new songs and old songs combined into one fantastic Pist.On collection that’s sure to appease old school fans and turn on plenty pf new ones, too! Kinda like a third record but also not, Cold World is a hefty reminder of how potent Pist.On was and still is as new and old tracks collide, fitting together like puzzle pieces within this grand career-spanning Pist.On album.
Without skipping a beat, the title track hits with the same kind of melodic crunch and Gothic overtones as any of their previous works. There’s those huge choruses infused with the melancholy melody that the band were known for during their initial run and hearing them now hits just all those right nostalgia notes ever so beautifully. Vocalist Henry Font continues to emote effortlessly whether crooning or seething with this tempered anger as heard on the thumping “Ruin Your Day”. The other brand new track on here, “Icicles”, is a thunderous melodious number that hearkens back to their heyday but dwells perfectly within the present. It’s a juxtaposed brilliance that’s time-displaced but tethered to the here and now and the kind of track that begs for the perfect line up of Silvertomb, A Pale Horse Named Death, and Pist.On to all tour together down the road.
Then we dive into the past for eight tracks comprised of four previously unreleased demo tracks recorded between 1999 and 2021, the 2001 self-released Saves EP, and the Metal Massacre XII contribution “Exhume Here”.
“Vamp 69” is kinda vicious with some particularly bestial drumming from Jeff McManus which accentuates Font and Burton Gans’ wall of guitar noise while “Opera” is poignant and powerful, treading that fine line between beautiful and brutal that Pist.On do so well. “I Don’t” stomps yet shimmies with chord progressions similar to TON at times and that aforementioned Metal Blade compilation track, “Exhume Her”, is another throwback that perfectly fits within Number One and its’ big and brooding aesthetic.
The demos give glimpses of what could have been as well as slight hints of what’s to come starting with 2000’s “Ice Bath” which is gorgeous and glistening while presenting an idea of where the band was headed post-$ell Out. On the other hand, the trio of demo tracks from 2021 are a refreshing preview of Pist.On 2.0 with “Light”, ahem, being a definite highlight accented by some thrashier moments from Gans and Font with the vocalist also delivering some truly haunting lines.
The digital Cold World EP is out now and can be streamed when you head here. For a variety of pre-order options of the physical release dropping on July 29th via M-Theory Audio, head here. And for more on Pist.On, follow the trail of socials by clicking here or here.