Slave Traitor: Press

Slave Traitor hail from Seattle, WA and 'Man Infest Destiny' is the band's second release. This is the first time I've had a chance to listen to their work. Taking a superficial approach, Slave Traitor could be labeled as a doom/death band, but I feel that this would be very deceiving as the band has a vastly different profile and sound than the average band from this genre.

From the first note of 'Wilderness Of Mirrors' to the last note of 'Dust In The Wound' Slave Traitor never tries to sound similar to the founders of the genre and only by trying very hard can I find elements of early My Dying Bride. This mostly has to do with the fact that they also incorporate black metal elements into their sound. Bands like Sentenced (in their early years), Moonspell (before they became a completely gothic metal band), Rotting Christ, Samael and other atmospheric black metal acts come to my mind but despite this, the band maintains a more rhythmic and progressive approach that many American bands incorporate.

The six tracks on the album are all very good and show great skill in both writing and performance. It would be difficult to pick a favorite track, but I would probably go with 'Insult'. My impression of the album is that it is very good and it is actually one of the most intriguing and refreshing doom/death albums I've heard in a long time. It makes me wonder why they don't have a record label to distribute their music.

I love it when I know what I think of an album the moment it hits my ears. Makes my job a lot easier that way. Seattle's Slave Traitor know exactly what they are doing and they immediately establish themselves. My initial thought was that they sound a lot like High on fire. The vocals are similar to Matt Pike's and the music and thick and heavy roll to it. They are more subtle at times as they possess a knack for grabbing the pace in a steel grip as they slowly squeeze notes out getting as much out of each and every sound. This six song EP is strongly crafted with each song sounding as if it was carefully mapped out and executed. Once I got a few tracks into the disc I began see where they differed from High on fire to some extent. Even though they have traits of stoner rock just due to the pace they still have some definite thrash undertones in places. I think that influence provides a spark that sets this band apart. There is a definite Slayer sound here and there along the lines of the Reign in blood and South of heaven only slightly slower of course. They just easily manage to create and maintain a definite intensity. My only complaint was that they have now done two EPs I would love to see what they can on a full length release.

With a sound befitting the very top notch bands, the music here treads a similar path to the likes of Crowbar, High on Fire, Mastodon, old Neurosis, and even Slayer. The Doom style here is up-beat and catchy. Gloomy weighty riffs abound and ooze forth with a groove and mid-tempo sludge sound. As with a Doomy acts you will notice traces of Sabbath amongst the guitars riffs, and that is unavoidable. Ice blasted melodies and rhythmic shifting implode amongst catchy sludge riffs bursting with brimstone and fire. The deep-toned guitar chords dance with a NWOBHM-flavoured guitar solo’s to solidify and kick this bands METAL feet firmly up your flabby assholes.

The band utilizes a triple vocal attack that offers a wider range to the music’s vitality. They really are spite charged throaty rasps in the style of Cemetery’s Mathias Lodmalm. There is also a thrash element that bolsters the overall crushing rhythmic music here ultimately follows the aforementioned bands traditional vibe as well as likewise acts, Orange Goblin and Cathedral. With each track having a style of its own, this is far from a tedious listen. I would suggest many of you will enjoy this has is has so many of the attributes of what Metal is all about. This is pure and simple up-beat Doom with a heavy as shit production. This 6 tracker was mixed by the renowned engineer/producer Jack Endino and it shows

While Seattle’s Slave Traitor my not offer up a whole lot of originality to their brand of heavy groove and thrash/hardcore oriented doom metal on their second EP Man Infest Destiny the songwriting and pacing of tracks keeps thing interesting and well worth listening too. There are strong similarities to certain Crowbar albums, in specific Odd Fellows Rest, I find myself not getting bored to death like I did with the aforementioned album while booming Slave Traitor. Again the pacing with this EP is the best part it has those drearily slow moments with juxtaposition within its speedy moments. Don’t let bands location deter your judgment either, there’s no grunge influence in the sound, the EP has it’s southern-fried nuggets and the vocalist at times comes out with sort of stuttering growl creating an almost psychedelic atmosphere at times. All in all the EP offers up a diverse listen for six songs worth of music in 25 minutes time.

This is the 2nd album from Seattle based Slave Traitor. "Man Infest Destiny" presents a very down tempo metal consisting of a phat sound throughout it's tracks. Some may choose to term this band or album's sound as slug or stoner metal that is presented in a clear manner using tranced out and excellent riff progressions throughout the album and deep growling vocals that can at times grow into mid-ranged howls snarling here and there. Darkness and a depressive emotion is what I find is the core feel of this album even with it's catchy bass riffs and fun yet mean feel to some tracks. I feel this album have been well thought out and presents itself in a take it how it is manner. Giving this one a 3.5/5 and think that most listeners will really enjoy "Man Infest Destiny".

It is extremely difficult to critique Man Infest Destiny, without mentioning their present engineer Jack Endino. This was the first note taken upon listening to the record. You can view this as a possible cheap disclaimer, but this most definitely was the case. There are ilk’s of his work almost referenced everywhere within the record, which has been an obvious design choice made by Slave Traitor (who by the sounds of things, aren’t bad producers either).

A meaty hard-rock production, Man Infest Destiny presents a tried and tested formula that does appear to still work within the current climate. Although a condescending remark and slight gripe at forerunners in the industry, Slave Traitor have been able to capture everything stylistically correct, with a huge tick on-top of what is, a littered box.

Yes, it is easy to suggest that Man Infest Destiny is just an honest reiteration of the past, with at times a lack of depth that is disappointing throughout the entire record. However, the aforementioned concerns should be dispelled, albeit rapidly, as the groups song writing is comprehensive and laden with honest and rustic deliveries. Periodic progressions throughout the record are absolutely mesmerizing that provoke contemplation as to why Slave Traitor are not pioneering such a congested genre.

Saturated in Jack Endino’s grace, “Man Infest Destiny” is a production that feels very much stuck between its grunge and metallic precursors of the late nineties. This will synthesise with many as an appreciated choice, that certainly works, however an assumption of detracting ambition can be readily concluded, with periods in various tracks feeling unintentionally lazy, and diluted.

There is an infinite amount of excellent riff progressions, enough twists on song structure, and enough barefaced twiddling of the knobs by Endino to make “Man Infest Destiny” a worthwhile package. This is certainly not his best work, nor Slave Traitors; however “Man Infest Destiny” is on par with other competitors, and their previous works, that will add to an already impressive discography for both parties. “Man Infest Destiny” is a decent hard-rock production, but little else.

Armed with legendary producer Jack Endino twiddling the knobs, Seattle´s Slave Traitor headed into the studio and come back with their second strike, the self-issued EP called "Man Infest Destiny". As good as their debut EP "Black Narcissus" is, "Man Infest Destiny" is even better. A top-notch record that shows, that Slave Traitor are ready to take on the world with this new record.

With their style of melting doom-, sludge- and stoner metal elements in their sound, they create their own musical spot in the neighbourhood of Mastodon, Crowbar, High on Fire and old Neurosis. With doomy, heavy weight metal riffs, from crawling to mid-tempo grooves, and the triple vocal use (Marc Burno (bass), Eric Kempton (guitar) and Jake Willanger (guitar) share the vocals equally- with each voice making a distinct impact, from guttural growls to mid-range snarl and howls), Slave Traitor take their listeners to the deepest depths of metal- and the pitch black soul of rock music.

A rumbling intro builds a swinging doom groove for the furious opener "Wilderness of Mirrors", immediately followed by a shredding blast of frostbitten, chord progressions with multi-headed vocal carnage lunging directly for the throat and crowned with a bluesy, metal-laden guitar solo.

Afterwards "Burning Sniper", mixing up a balanced platter of punchy, metallic doom with slower Black Sabbath riffs. Punishing but with a gritty underpinning of melody in music and chorus. Intensity unfolds in the form of consistently groovy riffs, superior drumming and menacing vocal trade-offs, that splinter off in a variety of directions.

Forceful and mean as hell comes the shredding mid-tempo rage of "Pill Cutter" which bares smoldering aggression with spiteful vocals, doom-baked metal riffs and a drawn-out melodic dissonance. This slightly beautiful bit of distortion adds a strange vulnerability to a song filled with down-trodden riffs.

"The Middle Passage" gets going with screaming vocals in the verses and surging guitar. The chorus shines with a moody, slightly Black Sabbath tinged doom shuffle, but allows blackened ambiance to appear in the guitar work shortly thereafter.

"Insult" is a slow and doomy track with nasty vocals and eerie shades of melody.

The get-out dance of this awesome album is "Dust in the Wound", which presents brutal, mid-tempo thrash that trades blows with crushing doom heft and gang shouts that lead to a tremendous finale of groovy rhythmic shifting and catchy sludge riffs.

With "Man Infest Destiny" Slave Traitor unleash a mean beast, a huge statement of vicious rock, which is perfectly captured by Jack Endino, with a fresh and mighty production! A little masterpiece that all fans of metal, doom and sludge should deal with. And hopefully a record label will take this band under one´s wing. Two thumbs up!

For their 2nd EP, Seattle's Slave Traitor deliver six flowing tracks of sludge and doom infused death metal, complete with some bluesy leads and gruff vocals. I could liken this to a less aggressive EyeHateGod, or a less noisy Buzz*oven as far as its riffs are concerned.

"Wilderness of Mirrors" opens the EP and I believe this is the real strong point. It develops a nice atmosphere in its opening riffs and then kicks out a groovy jam with angry vocals, and a little death metal riff over the chorus. I wasn't feeling "Burning Sniper" or "Pill Cutter" as much, both have a groovy sludge dynamic to them with some more uplifting melodic riffs. "The Middle Passage" has a stony heavy metal vibe, and the vocals on this track are pretty nice, it's like a death metal Cirith Ungol, Cathedral or Trouble. It's another of the better tracks. "Insult" rocks out but there is little of note after its initial driving rhythm. "Dust in the Wound" is grooving and angry, with some nice gang shouts.

The EP sounds spectacular, with the perfect bite to the guitars and the vocals sit just above at the proper volume. I also dig the band's aesthetic, especially the cover art with the gasmask visor reflection of a Seattle holocaust. Gives it a sort of thrash feel which actually meshes well with the band's music. I did enjoy a few songs here, but others not so much. Maybe next time. They've definitely got a strong style and if you dig heavier doom with some groove to it (Eyehategod, Grief, etc) then you might get more from this.

Slave Traitor's Black Narcissus was mostly notable for the fact that all three singers sounded like Lord Humungus from The Road Warrior. For their second EP, I'm still having a tough time telling Marc Burno apart from Eric Kempton and Jake Willanger, but I'm no longer wondering if they're singing “I am gravely disappointed. Again you have made me unleash my dogs of war.” What I liked about Man Infest Destiny's six tracks was that they never seemed entirely beholden to one particular sound (save for an all encompassing "heavy"). Take lead track “Wilderness of Mirrors” for example. You could say it's some strain of doom/sludge metal, except the band also throws in equal parts 90's alt rock and thrash to the mix. It's as if the band decided that it was more important to write fully developed songs and not rely solely on brute force. Given how easy it is to reap rewards with the latter, I'd say the band's well worth your time for succeeding with the former.

During the second part of previous 2008 year, a Seattle based band Slave Traitor has released its second effort, entitled "Man Infest Destiny". It's a EP issue, and the same situation was also with group's first effort - " Black Narcissus " from 2006 year, a mentioned title is also an EP. A band was formed in 2005 year, work as a quartet with 2 guitarists, who also with bassist did a vocal duties. Slave Traitor's stylish and performing variants are consists of mixing elements of classic heavy, doom and sludge options. A band plays so call down tempo metal with strong dynamizations and hypnotic riff phrases. Most of materials are done in mid to mid-up tempo, where one general similar psychology exists on all of present tracks. I would also add, that production is enough convinceble and mostly clear .

They say you should always go with your first reaction. Which begs the question, who the hell are “they” anyhow? See, the problem is, “they” are not always correct. When I first heard the name “SLAVE TRAITOR,” mentioned in passing by somebody at Declaration Of Doom, I was thinking “Whoa! Is this some kind of pro-slavery deal?” Soon, however, I realized the spelling of the name was not Slave Trader, but TRAITOR. A further exploration of this unit from Seattle, Washington revealed that they had just released their 2nd record, the self-issued “Man Infest Destiny.” The first thing I found out, upon slapping this lil’ puppy in my player is that it’s pretty damn short. Six songs and most in the 4 minute range. The second thing I found out is that the length is just about perfect because the intensity level never diminishes through any of the 6 tracks and, if it were longer, the listener just might not survive. So, what are we talking about here style-wise? Take the crushing, deep-toned guitar slabs of High On Fire, infuse it with the 3-pronged vocal attack of Mastodon and then brush-stroke it with surprisingly melodic guitar leads. Combine this all with darn catchy riffs/songs, have legend Jack Endino sit at the knobs and you’ve got a winner. You don’t have to go any further than opener “Wilderness Of Mirrors” to see what I’m talking about. When the NWOBHM-flavoured guitar solo merges with the Pike-like chords in this one, you’ll be hooked just like I was. Also, check out “Pill Cutter” & “The Middle Passage,” each giving way at points to chordal sections that could be out of the Alex Lifeson songbook before slamming back into a sludgy metallic assault. The differences in the 3 gruff vocalists add to the freshness of this record too, and make it an absolute keeper. Check out the band’s previous (2006) effort, “Black Narcissus” as well.

I have been on edge waiting for this one and let me be the first to say, Seattle’s Slave Traitor are ready to take on the world with their new record Man Infest Destiny. Their first LP, Black Narcissus took metal and slowed it down to a doom crawl. Kind of in the way Crowbar did but with a huge original spin on the style. Bustling with a triple vocal attack, ultra doom-y thrash riffs and unique lyrical content; the Traitor quickly jumped into my list of favorite newer bands.

Armed with renowned grunge titan, Jack Endino twiddling the knobs, the Slave Traitor juggernaut headed into the studio and came back with a vicious monster that improves on Black Narcissus in every way. I can’t even begin to tell you how much sharper the song-writing is this time around. You need to hear this with your own two ears. As good as Black Narcissus is there is so much more going on with Man Infest Destiny that it is hard to even catch a breath, let alone find time to make comparisons to the debut.

All it takes is one listen of the furious opener, “Wilderness of Mirrors” to know that these guys mean business! A rumbling intro builds a swinging doom groove that borrows from Drop Out era 16 but thrashes things up in terms of tonality, technicality and vocal abuse. Immediately following this section is a shredding blast of frostbitten, chord progressions that shoves a fistful of black metal up the doom genre’s ass with multi-headed vocal carnage lunging directly for the throat. The tri-vocal approach is even deadlier this time around; you can tell who’s who in terms of the deliveries with each voice making a distinct impact; from the guttural growl to the snarling mid-range sneer and the strained, Kirk Windstein howl. They are all there and getting due time to share the stage equally. Then when the boys throw a bluesy, metal-laden guitar solo over top the rhythm section’s weighty doom groove and the second guitar’s boiling riff, they’ve completely done me in. My brain has literally been blown out of my ass and all of my bones reduced to jelly.

Right out of the bullpen the band has my senses reeling and then comes “Burning Sniper” which hits me in the chin with the force of a cinder block. I’m down for the count at this point; ST literally slipped me a Mickey and snuck a brass knuckle into their boxing gloves. Mixing up a balanced platter of punchy, metallic doom with slower Sabbath churns hasn’t sounded this original to my ears in sometime. Punishing but with a gritty underpinning of melody in both music and words (especially in the strained singing during the chorus); the track radiates many emotions from hope to hate with a ferocious swagger that won’t find its way out of your brain anytime soon. There’s a nice 70’s groove later in the tune which further shows the lengths to which ST travel to bring you back their cosmic crunch. Intensity unfolds in the form of consistently groovy riffs, superior drum battery from the quiet and unassuming Steve Hass and menacing, top-notch vocal trade-offs that splinter off in a variety of directions that keep things fresh and only stirs up more originality in their dirt-caked, metallic brew.

Forceful, mid-tempo and mean as hell comes the shredding rage of “Pill Cutter” which bares resemblance to the smoldering aggression of Black Narcissus’s best songs but with vocals ten times as spiteful, far more hopeless doom-baked metal riffs and a drawn-out melodic dissonance that only enhances the band’s swirling vortex of pain. This odd, slightly beautiful bit of distortion adds a strange vulnerability to a song filled with down-trodden riffs that plow straight through eardrums and flatten any remaining gray matter you might have kicking around upstairs. It is that damn good. A weird mixture of 16, Crowbar, Celtic Frost, High on Fire, early Slayer and Unearthly Trance (The Trident era) comes to my mind. So hard to point a finger on some of the things influencing these guys and it always melts into a mosaic of destructive sound that can only be defined as ST; nothing cookie-cutter about the way these cats get things done!

We return to the land of galloping, icy as the winter night metal for “The Middle Passage” which allows the slightest hint of black metal to seep into the sneering, screaming vocals of the first verse (which return to that excellent form of growled singing for the chorus) and surging guitar that puts doom on the backburner and brings wasteland- riding metal to the forefront. The chorus shines with a moody, slightly Sabbath tinged doom shuffle but allows blackened ambiance to appear in the guitar work shortly thereafter shedding an entirely different light on what has come so far. Another masterpiece if you ask me.

Closing the record is the one-two knockout punch of “Insult” and “Dust in the Wound”. The former is slower and doom-y in the vein of Crowbar but with nasty vocals and an odd adherence to black metal’s best, eerie shades of melody and the latter comes charging in loaded for bear with brutal, mid-tempo thrash that trades blows with crushing doom heft and gang screams n’ shouts that will have the listener’s soul kicked into a sandstorm of white-rage, capable of mowing down everything in one’s path. A tremendous finale of groovy, white-knuckle rhythmic shifting and catchy sludge riffs toss the icing on the cake and then fry it up with a flamethrower.

Everything that ST unleashes here is tremendous and captured with perfection by Endino. Fresh off his production of High on Fire’s Death is this Communion; Jack seems to really have developed an ear for the metal cum doom skullduggery going on in modern times. Man Infest Destiny sounds, HUGE. Nothing is out of place with the thickest of tones emerging from all stringed instruments, venomous vocals coming through loud n’ clear and a booming, natural drum sound providing the most decisive of backing thunder.

When 2008 comes to a close, Man Infest Destiny will stand high as one of the year’s finest albums (in any genre). A masterpiece that all fans of extreme metal, doom and sludge can sink their teeth into. Might be my number one album of the year so far…I think ten listens in a day and half says something for just what kind of beast we are dealing with. Essential listening for all of you out there and don’t forget to check out their previous behemoth, Black Narcissus if you are still one of the stragglers that hasn’t gotten a proper ST education yet!