Trap Them - Blissfucker | Review

Three years following the release of Darker Handcraft, crust/hardcore/grind outfit Trap Them emerge with a new album and an entirely new rhythmic section with Brad Fickeisen, formerly of The Red Chord on drums and Galen Baudhuin (Infera Bruo) on bass.

On Blissfucker, the four-piece have peppered their chaotic combination of grind, crust, metal and hardcore with some of the slowest and catchiest riffs they’ve ever written, but that’s not to say that Trap Them have softened their sound. On the contrary, right off the bat opening song “Salted Crypts” sends out a very clear message to the listener that this is not going to be pretty. Rightly so, Blissfucker is filled with the band's iconic Entombed-influenced crusty hardcore and is just as heavy as previous efforts. But while Darker Handcraft rage forward at full blast its entire run time, on this new work they've found a way to balance all the relentless blast-beats, all the vicious and cacophonous guitar-work with some crushing hooks and catchy tempos without compromising the intensity of their attack. Mid-paced bangers like “Gift and Gift Unsteady” and “Sanitations” offer some reprieve from the utter cacophony displayed by clamorous tracks such as “Lungrunners” and “Former Lining Wide the Walls”. This works really well and gives each song a more distinct character, which is no easy task when we’re talking about grind/crust releases.

The record also contains quite possibly the darkest, creepiest song Trap Them ever written to date, I’m talking about “Ransom Risen”, which starts slowly with some eerie guitar melodies but suddenly bursts into a boisterous blend of frantic drum beats, ferocious riffs and anguished roars.

Even though, Blissfucker is a bit different and more sophisticated than previous works, I’m positive that fans will be truly impressed with the record’s cohesion and energy.

Band info: www.facebook.com/TrapThem
Label info: www.prostheticrecords.com