BETRAYING THE MARTYRS
Breathe In Life
[Sumerian Records]
Verdict: 7.5/10

Hailing from Paris/France, BETRAYING THE MARTYRS have been making a name for themselves since their formation in late 2008 early 2009. Late 2009 saw the release of the band’s EP The Hurt, The Divine, The Light. It was easily ate up and it helped solidify that the band were on the right path. Last year, as is normal, the band under went a lineup change that only seems to have made them a tighter unit. In the wake of bands like WINDS OF PLAGUE mixing metal, hardcore and symphonic death metal bands have been trying to implement this style into their own groups. It doesnt usually work out as they end up sounding forced and just plain annoying. BETRAYING THE MARTYRS used this format and added the use of clean vocals. Definitely borrowing bits and pieces of all the more popular genres out there. The difference is they arent a clone. Breathe In Life immediately sets off unapologetically sounding like WINDS OF PLAGUE or DIMMU BORGIR with its epic as 300 intro, “Ad Astra” only to dive right into the heaviest, meatiest start to a track in a while. beating to death the listener in its unrelenting groove and dual vocals, even venturing into a little of the BORN OF OSIRIS, VEIL OF MAYA style of aggressiveness with the 7/8 string attack and dexterous guitar ‘noodeling’. These boys are not afraid of a good breakdown beatdown session or two as the rest of Breathe In Life is chock full of these defining moments. As out of place one would like to think the clean vocals would be in this devastating mix of heavy, they actually fill out the achieved sound better than ever imagined. Its truly hard to describe the rest of this record as it runs its A.D.D. course od death metal, deathcore, metal and hardcore and yes, pretty much every other genre. BETRAYING THE MARTYRS have managed to put out an album to keep all others on their collective toes. One could only hope that they inspire others to mix more than one style and make a uniquely invigorating record like they have with Breathe In Life. — by Jon Hole

Second Opinion

Verdict: 9.5/10

Sumerian Records stunned the music scene on July 20th by announcing they had signed French progressive metal band BETRAYING THE MARTYRS out of the blue. Sumerian says BTM “is going to breathe life in to a scene where emotion has fallen to the wayside and the focus has become on the breakdown rather than the song.” Believe this statement, because this album surely is something else. Following their successful EP, BTM seemed to get their second wind after some member changes took place, resulting in English-born Aaron Matts (Vocals) and Lucas D’Angelo (Guitar) joining  the band. The sound on this album is what you would get if you blended THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA and fellow Sumerian label mates, BORN OF OSIRIS.  The album has heavy-shredding guitar breakdowns and progressions similar to TDWP, but also has that strong-technical feeling that’s ever present in any BOO record. This album kicks off with a bang in the first full song ‘Martyrs.’ The intro ‘Adstra’ is filled with instruments from an orchestra and builds up momentum and anticipation as the piano and background choir lead right into the heaviness that awaits the listen in ‘Martyrs’. The song kicks off with deep growls and a fast paced rhythm set by the guitars, which is backed by double-bass from the drums. This continues for little over a minute until clean vocals come into the picture, but then quickly transitions back into a couple of bone crushing guitar solos and continues until the song comes to an end. The intense and heavy pace that’s set in this song continues throughout the album and makes the listener want to come back for more. As you get to the middle of the album, ‘Tapestry of Me’ has a very distinct sound. It’s filled with some different guitar rhythms, a beautifully moving chorus of clean vocals, and a unique guitar solo. Every track on this album is solid and truly an adventure for any listener. Be sure to listen to tracks ‘Life is Precious’, ‘Love Lost’ and the ending track ‘When You’re Alone’, as they may be the best on the album. BTM has already made a splash in Europe, but they’re about to make an even bigger splash over in the States with Breathe In Life. Be prepared.

-by Cole White