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TRAITOR
Exiled To The Surface

Violent Creek (2022)
Rating: 6.5/10

Exiled To The Surface is the fourth full-length album from this German thrash attack, and the follow-up to 2018’s Knee-Deep In The Dead.

In today’s climate it’s rather standard to hear this sort of stuff as the combo rattles its way through a bunch of snappy retorts that harkens back to the likes of classic Kreator, but without the conviction.

Traitor, like a lot of New Wave Of Thrash Metal acts, are happy to dawdle along in their retro-worship without seeing or hearing just how generic it becomes. But then again, it’s hard to knock these guys for keeping the Teutonic flag flying. Even so, I can pick my way through any of Traitor’s releases and you know what to expect. Rarely does the band deviate from its chosen path, instead they rely on energy, vigour and those constant nods to the late 80s.

Some fans who have been waiting for this slab to touch down may be disappointed to find that a few of the tracks have already appeared previously on 2019’s Decade Of Revival compilation, but if you like fast, snappy yet disposable thrash then there’s much to savour here to accompany your beer-swigging exploits.

Tracks such as ‘Total Thrash’ (featuring guest vocals from Sodom’s Tom Angelripper and Abandoned’s Holger Ziegler), ‘Zordrak’ and ‘Space Seed’ are thrash by numbers expressions bejewelled by the wild solos which make for an entertaining listen, but everything else is all too familiar. ’66 Exeter Street’ stands out with its menacing chug, but the atrocious cover of Wham!’s ‘Careless Whisper’ just isn’t funny, especially replacing the words “dance” with “mosh”! C’mon guys, we’re not all silly teenagers thinking thrash only started out 20 years ago.

Exiled To The Surface may maintain the cult following for the band but it does nothing to expand, let alone touch the parameters Traitor constructed during their formation well over a decade ago.

Neil Arnold

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