Well this was a swift roundhouse kick to the mush and no mistake. Treason, the Cincinnati straight edge crew who feature ex Culture and Terror members in their ranks, return with their new E.P True Believers and it’s not one for the faint of heart. Building on the sound they developed on No One Is Safe they have honed it and created a perfect crowd killing Hardcore record.
Imagine for a second, if you will, that Trevor Peres from Obituary stumbles upon a Terror practice. The output from that session, with just a pinch of Malevolence’s talent for knowing exactly when to drop in a furious breakdown, may well be the best way I can describe Treason. But don’t take my word for it. Wrap your ears around the middle monster, We Are Against that’s got a closing riff that will give you bruises just listening to it.
Still not convinced? Then try final track Balaclava on for size. Squealing feedback layers itself over a menacing bass line that brings classic Cold As Life to mind before another punishing, pit inducing riff brings the whole thing crashing down. It used to be that the straight edge bands in hardcore were the fast paced high pitched whiny types, but the likes of Integrity and Earth Crisis changed all that in the mid 90’s and while half of those relax into middle age with a box of beers every weekend, the likes of Treason are still carrying the flag for the straight edge scene. And quite frankly it’s never sounded as heavy, as threatening and as downright vital as it does now. You thought straight edge was dead? It’ll never be dead as long as Treason has something to say about it… Chris Andrews
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