Betrayed - Substance

by Adam Anonymous

‘Music For Sausagefests’ should, if it hasn’t already been coined, be the title of hardcore’s greatest hits compilation

""Aram Arslanian’s vocals tower above a stack of peers who mistakenly appear to think rasping like a bulldog with its family jewels slammed in a car door makes for good extended listening.""

‘Music For Sausagefests’ should, if it hasn’t already been coined, be the title of hardcore’s greatest hits compilation. Rooms full of sweaty shaven-headed men are always a barrel of laughs, y’know, especially when testosterone, physical contact and occasional steroid use come into play.

Betrayed, on CD artwork evidence, attract such gatherings of exclusively hyped-up penis owners, perhaps thanks to terrace harmony chanted choruses and the usual wronged, slightly threatening line in angry lyricism.

They do, thankfully, have a few sneaky edges over the competition. Aram Arslanian’s vocals tower above a stack of peers who mistakenly appear to think rasping like a bulldog with its family jewels slammed in a car door makes for good extended listening. And in their sprawling geographical origins – from southern California to Vancouver – they meld the accepted styles of the former region with a darker sound typical of a trip further up the left coast.

Logically, that sees the quartet growl from menacing and pissed off (the “If I’ve told you once I’ve told you a thousand fucking times…” that precedes a riotous outro in ‘Consequence’) to the title track’s deeper intentions in declaring “We search for substance”.

In the meantime, it’d be mighty awesome if producer Kurt Ballou got on with bringing us Converge’s new ‘No Heroes’ opus, thankyouverymuch.

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