Review: “Severance” by Guilt Trip

We’ve been unashamedly following Manchester Metallic Hardcore meets crossover Thrash quartet Guilt Trip since their HUGE 2019 single “Thin Ice” caught our attention via BDHW Records. That was in the build up to the release of their debut album “River Of Lies“, a record which enabled them to put their boot print on both Europe and Canada while smashing Bloodstock and Hellfest appearances out of the park. Since of course they added a sophomore EP in 2021’s “Rain City” to their collection of burnt offerings while continuing their war path like trajectory as main support for  Stray From The Path across Europe. Two years on, vocalist Jay Valentine, drummer Tom Aimson and guitarist pairing Jak Maden and Sam Baker return with “Severance“, having inked a deal in blood with MLVLTD, the label owned and run by Sheffield Shredders Malevolence…

A band who have always stuck firmly to the go hard or go home approach, Guilt Trip come out swinging with “Fallen At My Feet“, a 77 second blast of Metallic Hardcore riffs with a feral single verse that hits like a knuckleduster to the jaw. A call to the pit and a call to arms with that two step ability, it’s one that sets the tone perfectly before the bouncy “Surrounded By Pain” sets the place ablaze. Tastefully Groove laden with the band pulling out a few whammy bar drops in the vein of Power Trip, it’s one with all the bark and bite of a Pitbull let off the leash after being stung on the nose by a hornet. Valentine has real venom in his voice and the punches simply keep coming as “Eyes Wide Shut” brings the rumbling bass, the percussion sounding absolutely huge as the driving force behind the pace and energy that the band summon. No relation to Stanley Kubrick’s 1999 erotic mystery psychological drama film, this one instead has more grit and integrity to it with a fierce intensity. “Sweet Dreams” finds the band joined by Florent Salfati of Landmvrks, a band who would make an obvious touring partner, for a pummelling affair that is enhanced by a couple of well placed fleeting clean sung moments. The mix has been nailed with the crunch of the guitars reminding of “Nomad” era Kublai Khan and you can’t help but feeling that some of these cuts have a name attached to them.

Giving a little respite without destroying the flow of the record “Reaching Paradise” is a tasteful melancholic instrumental that builds atmosphere in a why that mirrors the song title by sounding like ascendancy. That gives the opportunity for the follow up “Tearing Your Life Away” to hit that much harder and the band don’t waste the opportunity, unleashing a track that hits like thunder as Valentine admits to not speaking out when he should have, sick of listening to his enemies talking s***. The relatable nature of the lyrics is fuel to the fire of and you can bet your bottom dollar that this will get a circle pit. The whammy bar drop solo the record has been screaming for finally happens in “Broken Wings“, an absolute scorcher of a tune with a razor sharp riff and squeals to boot. It plays out at the tempo of the damned before transcending into a melodic section with a graceful clean sung vocal passage. Real blood, real sweat and real tears went into this and you can feel it when the cut snaps back into the final furious breakdown. Ploughing through their enemies with a clenched fist of fury, “The Gates” finds Guilt Trip bring out the big guns in vocalists from Malevolence and Rough Justice to add to the sheer weight of their sonic attack. Refusing to back down with the pedal to the metal this is music for pitting and partying that has a real depth of lyrical meaning to it.

After fleeting moments of clean vocal earlier on in the record, Mike Duce of Lower Than Atlantis appears on “Sanctified” to give it that sing-a-long ability, something which works incredibly well as Guilt Trip point blank refuse to sell their souls. Instead you get the best of both worlds as a heavy hitting Metallic Hardcore track is graced by a chorus that reminds of Stone Temple Pilots without lowering the tempo or intensity to do so. Surrounded by his fears and sins, Valentine opens his heart during a clean vocal at the beginning of “Hell Will Replace the Rain” that stuns, the band building from the dark atmosphere to their usual bone snapping style for a second half that hits like a freight train. A risk that pays off handsomely this one is one that sticks out from the record like a hammer smashed thumb for all the right reasons. Variety is after all the spice of life. The bass drive during the first verse of “Severance” is immense as the band give us another powerhouse cut of muscular Hardcore to throw into the fire. It is however “Dusk” where everything changes. A dark acoustic affair of raw emotion might be the last thing you’d have expected from an album of this stature but in truth it wouldn’t have worked anywhere else on the record. Showcasing a completely different side to the band and proving that they are far from a one trick pony, this final moment is one that stirs the soul. Guilt Trip are in their element here, you don’t want to sleep on this [8.5/10]

Track Listing

1. Fallen At My Feet
2. Surrounded By Pain
3. Eyes Wide Shut
4. Sweet Dreams (ft. Florent Salfati of Landmvrks)
5. Reaching Paradise (Instrumental)
6. Tearing Your Life Away
7. Broken Wings
8. The Gates (ft. Alex Taylor of Malevolence and James of Rough Justice)
9. Sanctified (ft. Mike Duce of Lower Than Atlantis)
10. Hell Will Replace the Rain
11. Severance
12. Dusk

“Severance” by Guilt Trip is out 22nd September 2023 via MLVLTD