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Trap Them

TRAP THEM - DARKER HANDCRAFT (9)
PROSTHETIC RECORDS

When "The Facts" was released on the Internet as a preview to Trap Them's third album, it turned out to be so heavy that it somehow fell out of people's speakers and literally crushed them. They had to send in aid by helicopter; you probably saw it on the news.

But why is it so good? Plenty of bands have the speed, the riffs and the familiar hardcore drum chops. What Trap Them manage to do is take this familiar structure and fill it with moments of incredible intensity and character. Crescendos, slower head-nodding beats and memorable vocal lines. It's like they've slipped some pop in there without anyone noticing.

This approach doesn't come without its dangers; songs like the bouncy 'Evictionaries' and the almost Metallica-like chugfest 'Manic in the Grips' might've sounded a little pantomime in the hands of anyone other than producer Kurt Ballou. If you want your band to sound like the end of the world, this is the guy to call. There are one or two tracks here that might even have turned out atmospheric if it weren't for the sheer spite dripping from every instrument. On the rest of the record, it's the feral noise that takes those "catchy" moments and gives them such horrendous, oppressive power that it seems ridiculous to ever call it accessible. But it is - it's somehow both at once.

That's what makes Trap Them stand out. It's one thing to punch your listeners in the face, but quite another to get them to enjoy it.

Reviewed by Nick Oakden
‘Darker Handcraft’ is out now on Prosthetic

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