Caution – risk of confusion! This review is not regarding that German thrashers from Balingen. The TRAITOR discussed here come from Philadelphia and play a natural mixture of speed, thrash and heavy metal. The quartet has been around since 2012. But so far, TRAITOR have been under the radar and, in contrast to their local namesakes, should therefore be completely unknown to the majority of our readership to date.
That should change with the debut. “Last Hope For The Wretched” is TRAITOR’s first full-fledged studio album following a demo (2014) of an EP and a split release with SACRIFICIAL BLOOD (both 2018).
And the disc starts like a hurricane. The split opener (“Sintroducer” is a 30-second instrumental intro and “Take Over” is the actual first song) marks a furiously accelerating, old-school melodic speedster that blows your ear canals out. The following tracks are divided into two groups. On the one hand there are the melodic Speed Metal numbers which, like the opener, have a strong Heavy Metal touch. No wonder, since TRAITOR count among others JUDAS PRIEST and ACCEPT to their main influences. The second group accommodates more rough, thrash-heavy chunks, which in turn show the band’s preference for MOTÖRHEAD, HUBBUB and GG ALLIN clearly noted.
In this connection it should also be mentioned that rhythm guitarist Greg and drummer Joe share the vocals, with the man behind the shooting gallery being responsible for the rude Death’n’Thrash vocals.
Generally the atmosphere is up “Last Hope For The Wretched” like a trip to the good old eighties, the heyday of speed metal. Thundering drums, tons of reverb on the vocals and traditional guitar playing with cool solos. And the whole thing is seasoned, as described at the beginning, sometimes more, sometimes less hearty.
Conclusion:
“Last Hope For The Wretched” has turned out to be a good, solid Speed Metal album that breathes the spirit of the Eighties and offers enough power and variety to keep the audience engaged until the last song. The sound is handmade, earthy and subtly mangy. All in all a successful debut.
