Fresh prog metallers Betraeus are set to hit the road on a SoundShock sponsored UK tour and quite frankly, they can't wait.  The eight-dates start today and it's an experience that will hear them take their brutal tunes to the road for the first time...

“This will be a new, exciting and challenging experience for us, which we intend to take head on,” says vocalist Christian Sykes.  “We want to show people a good time and a sick night of heavy fucking metal!” Other than making a big impression on UK indie label Siege Of Amida and consequently dazzling us with promising debut EP 'Towards The Sun', the Manchester-based act assure us that they've a galleon of energy to give on stage. “You can expect what we have delivered from day one – an energetic, heartfelt and downright brutal performance.  We want people to know we're here and that metal ain't dead.”

And if you didn't see them knock the socks off Bloodstock or destroy at Download this year – be sure to check for yourself that it's this very optimism that transfers into their passionate performances.  It's all very exciting for such a young act.  They're hardly into their 20's and already flourishingly into a melodic, technical metal force with an increasingly substantial fanbase.  But while some bands have worried about leaving the underground or actively seeking to nail a mainstream hit, Betraeus are modestly taking things day by day, and they believe that the limelight of a first UK tour will only be healthy for the band. “It can only affect the band in a positive way,” Sykes says.  “The more well-known we get, the more chance we have of sustaining the career that we've managed to carve out for ourselves so far.  None of us are posers or anything like that, so we'll always just keep on writing the material we enjoy. You'll never see us release a 'Lulu' – that's fo' sho'.” 

Keeping into a particular scene doesn't concern them – Betraeus are here to play unpretentious yet impacting metallic music and essentially enjoy doing what they're passionate about most. “Any scene that people want to attach us to, as long as it makes us more accessible, is fine by us. We aren't going to change the way we play. All we know is that we're metal, and of course, we love that.”

In the wake of the EP's arrival, work has begun on a highly anticipated full-length album. Although Sykes says that “fans of 'Towards The Sun' should look forward to bigger things from us in the future,” he admits that Betraeus are still a band maturing.  “We have quite a few tunes in the bag,” he confirms.  “But we're still working on the whole vibe of the record.  We really want this album to sound more like 'us' if you know what I mean? There are flashes of that on "Towards The Sun" and we aim to work more towards our very own musical identity with this.”

If it still sounds a little cryptic, Sykes reveals a few clues as to what we can expect with the yet-to-be-titled piece. “I would say that in parts there are distinct influences of the older Opeth.  However at times we are much more aggressive and direct in our playing, more like Decapitated or Gojira.  There are a range of influences across the EP which we kind of Frankenstein into our own style.  This will hopefully be more coherent and apparent by the time our album comes around.”

But for now, it's their tour that'll soon have people psyched.  So what's the most anticipated activities other than being on that stage? “It's he whole experience really,” responds Sykes.  “Meeting new people, partying hard and destroying some Travelodges.”

Don't forget to catch Betraeus on one of their Soundshock sponsored UK tour dates throughout December:
Tuesday 6 – Swansea, Sin City
Thursday 8 – London, Purple Turtle
Friday 9 – Brighton, Belushis
Sunday 11 – Glasgow, 13th Note
Thursday 15 – Leicester, Soundhouse
Saturday 17 – Manchester, Satan’s Hollow
Sunday 18 – Bury, The Towler
Monday 19 – Leeds, Escobar

Feature by Calum Robson