ILENKUS

Ilenkus are a five piece DIY metal/hardcore band from Galway, Ireland.

Ilenkus formed and released their first demo in 2010. It contained three home recorded songs, one of which would make it onto the bands debut LP the following year. Also completely self-recorded and funded, 'Rule By Thieves' was released in September 2011 and immediately attracted the attention of Savour Your Scene Records. The album was received positively by critics, with Terrorizer Magazine describing it as "expansive and well written".

In October 2012 Ilenkus released new song - 'Ram' and began touring outside of Ireland. The following year the band started writing the follow-up to 'Rule By Thieves'. Since then they have done multiple tours in the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe.

The band's second LP 'The Crossing' was released independently in September 2014 and was mixed and mastered by Chris Common (These Arms Are Snakes, Chelsea Wolfe, Pelican). The music video for 'Over The Fire, Under The Smoke' (which shows vocalist Chris Brennan performing the song acapella on a busy shopping street) amassed in excess of 30,000 views in under a week.

"A scorching batch of tracks that places creativity and energy at its core. A real achievement" - Metal Ireland - IE
"Starkly intense passages of grinding rage" - Metal Hammer - UK
"A beautiful wall of sound marked by excellent guitar riffs, outstanding drumming and great vocals" - Echoes and Dust - UK

Ilenkus recently featured in an episode of 'Fractured'; a documentary series exploring the Irish underground metal and extreme music scene. 'Like Burning Glass' provides an insight into how and why Ilenkus do what they do.

Over the years Ilenkus have played with bands including: Norma Jean, Mutoid Man, The Ocean, Coilguns, Rolo Tomassi, The Afternoon Gentlemen, 7.5 Tonnes of Beard, The Atrocity Exhibit, Employed To Serve and many more

Ilenkus' sound has been described as “A mix of Metal, Punk, Grunge and Noisecore”, while being compared to acts like Mastodon, Dillinger Escape Plan, Converge, Cult Of Luna and Botch.

PRESS
"It’s Ilenkus that come up trumps with a powerful airing of their meandering, and equally energetic, post-metal tidings. Whether it’s in the protracted passages of ‘Great Divide’ or shorter, more belligerent riff-driven tunes, this quintet are truly captivating."
- Terrorizer Magazine (Live Review)

"Ilenkus have shocked me, if that’s the right word for it. Their music is so complex that I genuinely don’t know where I would place it, it’s heavy, yet refined and well pieced together, carefully crafted and downright off beat most of the time. Their performance on this album is kept as that, there’s no digitalisation or any of that crap which can correct mistakes, this is a band playing as a band caught on a recording. Advanced, energetic and something which you’re either going to love or hate. The syncopation that these guys achieve throughout their music is quite simple phenomenal, and testament to their ability as a band to craft songs which will drag you in and make you want to hear more."
- Loud Stuff

"Ilenkus are a shot in the arm, that’s for sure. The needle, it must be said, is dirty: there’s no airs and graces here, it’s straight down DIY stuff sounding raw and hard hitting, which is of course underground music in its purest form. These guys are good. Get this release."
- Metal Ireland

"The end product is an interesting overall sound that both pummels the ears and shows off an incredible musical talent. There is a lot to be said about Ilenkus but I think the main thing that needs to be understood is their incredible songwriting abilities. Few bands have their gift of being able to play with dark and light like this - to invoke something with both pure evil and pure beauty"
- Two Guys Metal Reviews