Review: Exile the Traitor – Winter Eternal EP

[avatar user=”James” size=”50″ /]Exile the Traitor have been gracing the venues of Glasgow with their unique brand of Death Metal of which I’ve had the pleasure of watching and listening to multiple times. Aggressive, heavy and slamming are all words that can be used to describe this unique band. After a 3 year break in releases, they are back with a brand new EP, Winter Eternal.

Production wise, it’s aggressive but not brick-walled which is a good thing. Instruments have clarity, vocals cut through the mix and have power. It’s safe to say that the engineers did a cracking job in capturing the energy the band give in a live performance.Exile the Traitor-Winter Eternal

Opening up the EP is the track “Laments of a Flesh Peddler”. Opening with a early black Dahlia style riff, before transitioning into the main groove shows off their influences but also adds a good amount of originality. Opening into more melodic parts in places, all coupled with the roars from Anton (Vocals) and the shrieks of Wull (Vocals), it really shows of the musicianship of these guys.

“Puppetry of the Interred” then proceeds to slam your eardrums. Having joint harsh vocals in points really adds to the overall feel of the track with the constant driving of the drums and bass keeping things flowing. Add some impressive guitar work into the mix, and you’ve got a track that will go down a storm live. And I think I have heard this one live and it went down really well.

Holding back nothing and slamming straight in like a ton of bricks is the track “The Midnight Cavalcade”. Having a quicker pace than the other tracks, sets it apart from the others. Having a super catchy chorus guitar riff, adds even more to the track and I struggled to stop myself from head-banging along to it.

The title track of the EP, “Winter Eternal” then plays and it instantly reminds me of the first time I heard the track live. I thought, “Damn, this is awesome”. And it is. Fast driving drums and guitars, transitioning vocal parts and a superb guitar solo make this track the definite highlight of the EP. Like the first track, it really shows off their musicality and reinforces my assertion that they will go very far in the near future.

In terms of recommendation, I’d recommend it to fans of early Black Dahlia Murder and the more aggressive Melo-Death bands. You will not be disappointed.

Track List:

  1. Laments of a Flesh Peddler
  2. Puppetry of the Interred
  3. The midnight Cavalcade
  4. Winter Eternal

Exile the Traitor: facebook | twitter | bigcartel | bandcamp | reverbnation | last.fm

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