24th September 2022

Review: “Postmortem” by Behead the Betrayer (Fifth Anniversary)

By the point at which “Postmortem” was released back in September 2017, Hanover Pennsylvania quintet Behead the Betrayer had been around for a seven year stretch and shared stages with many a household name including Whitechapel, Carnifex and The Black Dahlia Murder as they reigned hell on the Deathcore World with groovy riffs, brutal breaks sponsored by Cold Cock Whiskey and Infector Clothing. Comprised of Kyle Duble on drums, Kyle Wagner on bass, Ryan Chrismer on vocals beside Mark “Chubbs” Groft and Kory Smith on guitars

Metallic Hardcore riff fueled instrumental opening “Judgement” sets the tone, only missing a one word vocal moment to put it in the same territory as “Antpile” from Kublai Khan but when the vocals do hit as follow up “Cesspool” they hit hard. Chrismer is capable of some brutal Death Metal roars and has a caustic mid tone that makes him the heaviest element of Behead the Betrayer who don’t have a guitar tone that carries quite enough weight to reach their Deathcore desires and instead finds them sitting an active above Metallic Hardcore and one below those heavier climbs. That’s not a bad thing they have plenty of curb appeal and could easily be considered a gateway act to Deathcore with a plethora of Mosh pit filling vicious little ditties in their armoury to make them a damn good time. They just lack a little bit of the gut punch to make them the band they aspire to be and there are odd times where the vocal is at odds with the rest of the sound. The staccato riffs of “Freeze Frame” provide plenty of bounce and there is the distinct impression that they get another ten percent out of this one live and if they had a tone that was heavier then this would be in Emmure territory. Duble is a powerhouse behind the kit, with jackhammer footwork and solid pounding fills that help drive these cuts forward with a standout performance on “Exposing The Filth“. Another barbed and venom spitting affair it has a much more sinister edge that cuts like a hot knife through butter, while the bong rip in the middle of the track followed by unhinged laughter is pure class as Chrismer reaches for but doesn’t quite touch the void into Slam. “Slum Wars” adds haunting organ tones to a finale that has less staccato riff breaks and instead builds on some Alternative Metal chord structures that break down into some heavier patterns later on as Chrismer roars “I’m your God!“. Don’t doubt it [7/10]

Track Listing