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Betrayed and When Tigers Fight…

Betrayed - SubstanceHaving quite enjoyed everything I've heard from Betrayed thus far, I was quite excited when their debut full-length, "Substance", showed up in the mail from Equal Vision Records. As expected, the album offers up a great mix of extremely solid songwriting that teeters back and forth between the band's more direct and aggressive old school hardcore tendencies and their more melodic and intricate riffing, which is what initially caught my ear in their earlier output (some tracks from which have been re-recorded herein). What makes this material all the better is that the band has finally scored the balanced sound quality they've needed all along, which comes as no surprise with Kurt Ballou at the helm, so whether they're plowing through a fast and borderline caustic track with a classic hardcore/punk aesthetic, or a longer and more developed tune with some badass rocked out riffs or slick melodic dissonance, it all sounds mighty fine. All 13 tracks clock in at a little less than a half-hour, making for a respectably timed listen that feels like just the right amount of material considering the rather relentless supply of energy that the songs carry. Seeing as I personally prefer Betrayed's catchier melodic side overall, I'm somewhat surprised by the amount of straight up hardcore present on the record, but the incredibly powerful anthems and memorable sing-alongs in tracks like "A Light in the Dark" (which is a true classic) certainly clear the way for "Substance" to make its mark. Few hardcore bands are capable of this caliber of riffs, and when you can take quality riffs and piece them into well arranged songs? You can't lose. At their absolute best Betrayed is an incredible group, and if they keep it together I'm certain the best is yet to come...

Betrayed "A Light in the Dark"
Betrayed "Bring it to Life"

The more I listen to this album the more I dig it, and I've found myself spinning it more often than anticipated as of late, so Betrayed seems to be one of my personal favorite acts out there when it comes to contemporary hardcore. Their roots are firmly intact while still pushing the boundaries out enough to secure a distinct edge, and it fuckin' works. Definitely recommended, so pick one up:

Equal Vision Records
RevHQ
@ Very Distribution

When Tigers Fight - Ghost StoryGod damnit, I've been waiting for this full-length ever since the band's EP hit the streets, and holy shit does it deliver. If for some bizarre reason you don't know what's up here, When Tigers Fight started out as a studio project a couple of years ago with its lineup spread out across the US and including among its ranks former Damnation A.D. frontman and one of the greatest hardcore vocalists ever Mike McTernan, plus riff machine Jonathan Dennison (The Promise, etc.) on guitar. And since that time Ken Olden has joined the mix on second guitar, making for double the action in the field of amazing riffs. So once the lineup has been rounded out by the rhythm section, the impressive list of bands that these cats have been involved with in the past ends up including American Nightmare, Another Victim, Battery, Death by Stereo, Santa Sangre, The Suicide File, Worlds Collide, and then some. Not too shabby.

Anyway, the CD pressing of "Ghost Story" recently hit the streets on Indecision Records and drops 12 tracks in a concise 28 minutes. The overall sound bounces around a bit but generally sounds about like the fierce metallic hardcore concoction you'd expect given the key players, so it's got a good amount of Olden's sludgy midpaced dissonance countered by Dennison's twisted melodies and energetic picking patterns—with McTernan's inimitable sneers taking care of business throughout. At times there are bits and pieces that sound a little more specifically like some of the songwriters' former bands, but in most cases the riffs fuse together well and create a solid blend of writing styles that's fairly consistent. Olden handled the recording as well, which sounds nice and massive with a crisp sense of clarity that actually all reminds me quite a bit of a slightly dryer version of Damnation A.D.'s "Kingdom of Lost Souls" in terms of overall balance and tonality. Hear the results for yourself:

When Tigers Fight "No Way"
When Tigers Fight "All That's Left"

How can you not be down with that!? I'm already looking forward to more—not to mention the new Damnation A.D. record slated for release later this year! Pick this up and keep your eyes peeled for other related projects:

Indecision Records
RevHQ
@ Surprise Attack Records

Comments

  1. The tunes are alright. Im diggin that When Tigers Fight. But the real reason Im posting is for that awesomely hilarious title. The power of the riff compels you! ahahahahaha. Way to make my Monday!

    7.24.2006 | By Adrianoso

  2. God, I can’t wait to see your comments on the new Helmet.  I’m still a Page Hamilton fan at heart and I want to like the new stuff, but I checked some of it out on Rhapsody and I couldn’t really make it through it.  It saddens me greatly, and I’m really trying to keep an open mind about it, but I just can’t get into it.  Anyway, I’ll be interested to see if anyone else agrees.  I seemed to read lots of great mainstream and indie press about “Size Matters” but I kind-of felt the same way about that one.  Without Bogdan and Stanier holding down the low-end, there is just something lacking.  And the melodic vocal parts just seem to reek of desperation or something.  Ok, I’ll stop now.

    7.24.2006 | By Karl J

  3. i hate this new sneer or whatever that page has developed. it’s even more pronounced on the new album than it was on “size matters”, and it pains me to no end. but anyway, let’s not turn this into a helmet debate.

    7.25.2006 | By Anonymous

  4. The intial listen of the new When Tigers Fight immediately brought another band to mind: Nine from sweden. A band that I’m not too fond of, due to very simplistic song structuring(straight verse chorus verse type shit). I haven’t bought the cd yet(going to), so hopefully it wiil win me over as I absolutely loved the mcd.

    7.25.2006 | By zach

  5. At first listen the new when tigers fight bored me but after 4 or 5 listens i really started to dig it. a stripped down damnation is better than most things out there i always say.

    7.25.2006 | By phil d

  6. speaking of the new helmet… that new helmet was a bit of a letdown.  the vocals are just not impressive.  it sounded like demo recordings.  i have some of the Ghandi recordings that one or maybe more of those songs were originally from and they sound 100x better than the re-recorded stuff on that record.

    7.25.2006 | By EMS / COREGASM / SA MOB

  7. damn, this new Betrayed is soooooo good. one of my fav records this year. just perfect.

    P.S-great job Andrew,you rule m/

    7.26.2006 | By HM

  8. Pretty much my two favourite hardcore albums at the moment. I too prefer the melodic side to Betrayed; the riff in “Understand” kept me awake for days when I first heard it…

    8.8.2006 | By manisthebastard

  9. I was just listening to this record again and have to say it’s really good. There is one let me say “stain” on that record and that’s the fifths song. Vocals: weak, lyrics: weak, song: weak. Why did they do that? I always have to skip the song for it ruins the whole picture you get. All the other songs are hands down masterpieces. Mc Ternan is THE man and I’m still bumped we didn’t see Damnation A.D. last time when they quit the euro tour. Timeless shit worth to listen to. Everyday.

    2.1.2012 | By Ingo

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