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Released on September 23, 2016 via Prosthetic Records
For those who are familiar with the recent swell of blackened, grind tinged metal and hardcore bands that have appeared in recent years need no introduction to Trap Them. 2008’s Seizures in Barren Paradise and 2011’s Darker Handcraft stand as the most chaotic and ferocious examples of a band unmatched in creating visceral yet memorable extreme music. The latter of these two albums and their third overall felt like the defining moment for Trap Them; the record displayed a high level of intensity and aggression whilst perfectly executing sporadic song structures; it was a display of a band built on grind and crust influences with the injected chaos that nods to bands like Converge. Following Darker Handcraft was 2014’s Blissfucker, wherein the band sought to create space among their bludgeoning sensory assaults to incorporate infectious grooves and dark passages of trudging instrumentation. Make no mistake, the band still hit as hard as they always have on Blissfucker, and now with Crown Feral they really want to break every bone.
Slow-burning opener ‘Kindred Dirt’ is dark and immersive, gradually accelerating toward the raging ‘Hellionaires’. This track is Trap Them in full form, going for the jugular with chaotic guitar work from Brian Vincent Izzi and driving drum patterns from Brad Fickeisen. The album delivers an early example of how the band consistently write head-rattling tracks that are as addictive as they are destructive. With the repeated, shrieking guitar lead and surging rhythms the listener doesn’t get long before being dragged into the fray. The blast-beat ridden ‘Prodigala’ and ‘Lustre Pendulums’ confirm the undeniable Swedish death metal influence that runs through the veins of the record, coupled with Kurt Ballou’s unmatched GodCity production style that provides the spine for Trap Them’s menacing guitar tones and chaotic song structures.
Not only are the band exercising a heaviness they are known so well for, but also executing some of the catchiest rhythms and guitar work they’ve ever done. A bold achievement considering some of the incredible moments on Darker Handcraft. ‘Malengines Here, Where They Should Be’ is a highlight for this very reason, leaving no time to catch a breath yet features varying tempos throughout whilst consistently assaulting the listener with riffs. ‘Revival Spines’ is equally unrelenting its effort to gore the listener with screeching guitar leads. Once again the band’s greatest weapon is Ryan John Mckenney’s unhinged vocal performance, prominent on tracks like ‘Twitching in the Auras’ where his voice is given space to wretch and scream in the face of the listener.
Crown Feral once again emphasizes that Trap Them possess a rare quality among bands in the genres they mutate together. Across their discography they’ve maintained a hardcore, crust and grind sound, leaning gradually toward death metal – especially on Crown Feral – and never letting up on ferocity. It’s difficult to produce records that never stray too far from what a band is known for doing and it not get bland, Trap Them have never suffered from this. Crown Feral is proof they can keep smashing skulls the way they do and people will keep coming back hungry for more. Their music is a unique attack unparalleled by anyone else, with Crown Feral they seek to obliterate and leave you bleeding out, fulfilled and anticipating an incredible band’s future releases.
