Toute Rancune InterviewI think it's finally time for us to just be a band againIt has been a turbulent year for the Belgian Art-Noise Rock legends Toute Rancune, since their reappearance after a 21 year hiatus. Since the band released their magnificent comeback album
Dew to great critical acclaim, they practically immediately started their old tradition of fighting against the tides. As great as
Dew was, it failed to get the attention of the industry, which made that the album was only available in European record stores. The tour that followed was only moderately succesfull and was cut short after the band saw itself reduced from a quintet to a trio.
Imagine the surprise when, after all this turmoil, the band announced the release of a new album last week. That album,
Hardcore Sexy is out now.
We meet up with founding member
Mario Abraham in Antwerp.
[img=
]fltr: Bavo Maximus, Mario Abraham & Christophe Deckers[/img]
Good morning Mr. Abraham. How are you today?Can't complain, can't complain. I'm actually quite excited. You never really know how people are going to react with each new album.
Am I right when I say that Hardcore Sexy is a 'make or break' album for TR?(laughs) What do you mean? Do we sound desperate or something?
I'm just surprised with the timing of it.Look, we just had a lot of unexpected free time that we could spend, writing and recording. Since we're still not obligated to answer to anyone but ourselves, we can work a lot faster than other bands. We have our own home studio's and still do our own distribution. I just look at this as a new chapter in our story. I think it's finally time for us to be a band again.
How is this album different than Dew?The same way all of our albums were different before. Each new album has always been sort of a reaction against what we just did.
Dew was more like a statement of 'We're Back!'.
Hardcore Sexy is where we actually show our true colours, stubborn, not to be taken for granted.
I'm sorry, did that sound too cocky?
Not at all.I think this album is more confrontational than
Dew. That album was more inviting.
I noticed that the promotion for this album is a lot more low key. Are you even planning to tour this album, or was the last tour so disappointing?We were never that concerned if we could actually perform this album in a live setting. This is very much a 'Studio Album'. We're still trying to figure out if it's actually possible to properly perform this music on a stage, especially as a trio.
Toute Rancune: Hardcore Sexy[img=
]Route Rancune: Hardcore Sexy[/img]
Written, performed and produced by Toute Rancune
Mario Abraham: guitar, synths, programming & vocals
Christophe Deckers: guitar, synths, programming & vocals
Bavo Maximus: drums, percussion & programming
1. xXx 7'33"
2. Hangsaman 14'13"
3. Passive Resistance 11'06"
4. Static Broadcast 9'55"
5. Ellenbow 12'00"
6. Scapegoat Rider 9'13"
7. MasterBassStation 10'02"
TRT: 64'02"
Recorded at various locations in Antwerp, Belgium
Mixed and mastered by Toute Rancune at Casa Camille.
Artwork by Ken Copy
©2026 - an Art Department release
No, just no!
I can understand that it must have been a frustrating year for
Toute Rancune. Despite the moderate succes they had with the release of comeback album
Dew, the band still found themselves heavily ignored by an industry that seemed to have forgotten all about them. In interviews it was also abundantly clear that frontman
Christophe Deckers was having a hard time relating to the current musical landscape.
Then there was the sudden mid tour-departure of
Kurt Specht and
Martin Duplantier. Now, history has tought us that a lineup has always been a fluctial thing in
Toute Rancune. However, losing two members in the midst of a tour, that's brusque, even to their standards.
Now, with the release of
Hardcore Sexy, it seems like
Toute Rancune has used all of that frustration, only to take it out on us, the listeners.
Really, who came up with this production? Every sound on this album is drowning in distortion and is so heavily compressed, it takes all the detail away.
I don't even see the point in reviewing the separate 'songs'. This is all just a repetitive, cold wave of white noise, pounding into your head with the subtlety of a pneumatic hammer, where nothing is distinguishable. The credits say that there are vocals. Where???!!!
This album is the equivalent of a band giving its listeners two fingers, only to shove them up their asses.
Just, No!!!!
1,5/10 (and I'm being generous)
Edited by user 01 May 2026 04:52:55(UTC)
| Reason: Not specified
