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Lostprophets - The Betrayed Album Review
January 31st 2010 00:08
Genre: Alternative rock, Alternative metal
Length: 47:01
Label: Visible Noise, Sony Music
Four years after the poppy – and great – Liberation Transmission, Lostprophets are back with a new album titled The Betrayed. Stated to be much “darker” and “grittier” than their previous albums, let's see how The Betrayed fared in that regard musically.
The first track, If It Wasn't For Hate, We'd Be Dead By Now, immediately grabs the listener's attention with an opening barrage of loud drums. The track itself is pretty short, clocking in at 2:19, but it's an effective way of letting the listener know what he/she's getting into.
The end of If It Wasn't For Hate, We'd Be Dead By Now transitions well into Dstryr/Dstryr which turns out to be a real assault on the senses. Although Dstryr/Dstryr contains an anthemic chorus like several of Lostprophets' huge hits, the song is very violent musically. Everything is loud and angry including the songwriting. With shouts of “Destroyer, Destroyer!” every two lines, the chorus gave me goosebumps and made me want to scream along with Ian Watkins.
The third track, It's Not The End Of The World, But I Can See It From Here, offers a brief respite from the loudness of the two previous tracks but just barely. Although the verses are quiet, the chorus once again grabs the listener and begs you to sing along.
Where We Belong follows in the same vein of It's Not The End Of The World, But I Can See It From Here. Once again, the chorus is perfect while the verses hold their own against the solid instrumental. It's a great track.
The next track – titled Next Stop, Atro City – is probably one of Lostprophets best and hardest track to date. It combines all of the good things from their previous three albums: a – very – heavy instrumental, screeching vocals by Ian Watkins, a memorable chorus, and an intense, headbang-inducing bridge. If you're familiar with Lostprophets' music, just imagine a much heavier "Start Something" (the song), and you get Atro City.
For He's A Jolly Good Felon is a good song featuring great vocals by Ian. The track itself is composed of two songs – for two and a half minutes, you get the usual Lostprophets fare, then the rest of the song is an instrumental straight out of a futuristic horror movie.
A Better Nothing is a good track, nothing more, nothing less. The chorus saves it from being an average track. The same goes for the next to last track, Darkest Blue.
Out of all the previous tracks, Streets Of Nowhere is the closest thing to their last album Liberation Transmission. Ian's singing on the verses is quite catchy. It reminded me of the song “Can't Catch Tomorrow (Good Shoes Won't Save You This Time)” on Liberation Transmission.
Like Streets Of Nowhere, Dirty Little Heart is reminiscent of Liberation Transmission – the song "Always All Ways (Apologies, Glances and Messed Up Chances)" in particular. I especially liked the piano-driven instrumental at the end.
The final track, titled The Light That Shines Twice As Bright..., is an excellent Snow Patrol-esque ballad that contrasts sharply with the rest of the album. Like “Sway...” on Start Something, it stands out from the other tracks but still feels like Lostprophets material at its core.
I first discovered Lostprophets after seeing the video for “Last Train Home” on MTV (or was it MuchMusic, can't remember) but was convinced to buy their albums after hearing tracks such as “Burn Burn,” “We Still Kill The Old Way,” “Shinobi vs. Dragon Ninja” and “Kobrakai” in video games. Although Liberation Transmission was a bit too mainstream for LP's hardcore fanbase, I found it great, bordering perfection. The same goes for The Betrayed. From the opening assault of “If It Wasn't For Hate, We'd Be Dead By Now” to the softer but still rocking “The Light That Shines Twice As Bright,” Betrayed doesn't disappoint. Ian Watkins' apocalyptic-like songwriting and singing shine brightly on this album and all the instrumentals accord themselves perfectly with his voice. The tracks I would definitely recommend are “Dstryr/Dstryr,” “Atro City,” and “The Light That Shines Twice As Bright....” I give this album 4.75/5.
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