It's just a load of noise
Harlots present the unsuspecting public with their fourth release 'Betrayer'. This Ohio four-piece have had their music called, 'intelligent and impressive' and mandatory 'for those who love intelligent heavy music'. The band has obviously had a lot of good press and it's easy to hear why. Their form of music is complex, chaotic, full of competent musicianship and unrelenting fury. However, on the other side of the fence, it is completely unintelligible, un-listenable and utterly annoying.
Unfortunately I'm sat on the latter side of the fence and found 'Betrayer' a total din. It reminded me of a bunch of extreme metal musicians warming up and pissing about at rehearsal because they haven't actually written any actual songs. Opener, 'The Weight Unweighable', is a messy mix of death and hardcore without melody, any recognisable structure or a hook of some kind of description. 'Avada Kedavra' follows the same style, but the song lasts twice as long as the previous track which is pretty painful to say the least. Many metal fans will consider this throwing around of notes to be clever and intelligent, and maybe it is. I personally think that the intelligence comes in creating a song that is a little more than something that sounds like a bunch of random ideas.
'Dried Up Goliathan' demonstrates their mellow side somewhat, but it still sounds messy. The vocals are just screams, growls and grunts, which are competently done, but are very tiresome because they come across as completely random. In that respect they compliment the hap-hazard nature of the music very well, but that doesn't make them any the more likable. 'Building An Empire Towards Destruction' is one of those rackets that will make the arses ache of your none metal mates, and 'Consensus For The Locus Of Thought' is…well, almost exactly the same. In fact all the songs are interchangeable. Apart from 'Dried Up Goliathan' and the even mellower 'Suicide Medley', you could mix and match the ideas in any of the other songs and they would make the same kind of sense. What I'm basically saying is there isn't a single idea or hook that gives any of the songs an identity.
I think this is a style of metal I can't connect with because it does sound like a bunch of musicians messing about. Having been in metal bands for several years and been in such warming up and pissing about sessions, I can honestly see a similarity. If you want a starting point then think Sikth, but a more hardcore and extreme version of them. If chaotic, random, hardcore, death is your thing, or even if it's not your thing, but you want to show off to your mates saying that it is your thing to show them how 'extreme' you are, then 'Betrayer' could be for you. It's impressive how the band have moulded the songs together, and I am amazed they could remember where they were in each song to record them. For that, they should be applauded, but it still sounds like a load of incoherent noise and that's coming from a seasoned metal head.