I, THE BETRAYER – 7

It's already been quite a while since some sort of heavy metal and hard rock revival began in Northern Europe, filtered through the more or less extreme sounds of the different local scenes. Chrome Division and Volbeat might be two of the most immediate examples of this approach, with their guitars, blues and rockabilly influences. Hailing from Oslo, I, The Betrayer fit precisely in this niche.

The quintet here debuts with the EP "7", released as a physical CD through the young label Darkspawn Records. The cover and booklet visuals also contribute to the simple and down-to-earth style of the Norwegian band, made very clear even by the title itself, apparently indicating the mere fact that the disc features seven songs (as the last track "Ignorance" is not written on the back, but is a part of the album). I, The Betrayer go on to explore a wide range of influences throughout the thirty-odd minutes of this EP (there are even some traces of System Of A Down in the vocals of  "Conformity").

The heavy ballad "Humanity" is strongly reminiscent of the ones played by the many nu-metal bands emerging in the early '00s. Generally speaking, "7" can be taken as an introduction to the band, giving out hints of what the quintet is capable of doing. In terms of themes, I, The Betrayer focused on the fight against stupidity and the violence often deriving from selfishness (as in the kornesque "Creatures Of Hate").

"7" is not a particularly consistent release, as the styles that influenced this work might be a bit too many, however there are some pretty good things that will make fans of the above genres happy. We will follow the future endeavors of this band, so as to see if they will also manage to develop a clearer and more defined character with their next work.