Betraying The Martyrs - 'Silver Lining' - EP Review

While recent years have been marked by a stellar rise in high quality modern Franch metal and we are still in awe by recent releases by some of its contemporary flagmen, it is easy to forget the ones that paved the way and made all of this possible. Fourtheen years since their symbolic inception, Betraying The Martyrs are undoubtedly one of the OGs in the local scene's rise to worldwide relevance and acclaim.

One debut EP and four iconic albums in, Betraying The Martyrs return with the perfectly balanced and curated 5-track metalcore storm that is Silver Lining, signalling a new phase in their career. Last year might have seemed like the end, following the amicable departure of charismatic frontman and deathcore royalty Aaron Matts, but the band's swift response in recruiting Rui Martins and switching to Out Of Line Music meant that Betraying The Martyrs are here to stay.

And there is hardly a better way to state their intentions than Silver Lining, in all its 18 minutes of pure modern metalcore glory. While Matts might have taken their old deathcore rawness away, the founding core of the band in Victor Guillet (clean vocals, keyboards), Baptiste Vigier (rhythm guitar) and Steeves Hostin (lead guitar), alongside Boris le Gal (drums) remains the same talented bunch, determined to keep Betraying The Martyrs at the heart of the French core scene.

Dropping the lead single 'Black Hole' last year was the first mark that Betrayin The Martyrs are about to return with a newly found purpose and sound. The perfect blend of everything we loved about the band and elements that might have been missing until now, the track pushed them into a new era that is just as exciting as when we first played Breathe In Life (2011).

The entire Silver Lining follows suit, balancing raw heaviness and symphonic melodies with surgical precision, and while you wouldn't call them trendsetters for it, Betraying The Martyrs might have just delivered the perfect metalcore release for 2022. Remaining true to their roots and what the genre has thaughts us to expect, the EP flows seamlessly through the chuggy rager 'Pressure', the arena anthem 'Embers' and epic madness of 'Mirror', always gravitating in the sweet golden mean of contemporary metal tropes whilst sounding fresh and keeping you on the edge until its spectacular 'Swan Song' finale.

The vocals are on point with Guillet and Martins bouncing off each other in effortless harmony, the guitars are djenty, driven and imaginative, the drums crisp and restless, the breakdowns brutal and timed well, the keys soaring at the background and engulfing the EP in perfect chilling atmosphere. All in all, Silver Lining just really hits the spot and there is nothing else to ask for.

In retrospect, Matts' departure might have been just what Betraying The Martyrs needed, not only giving him the creative freedom to go wild with ten56., but also allowing them to move forward in the right direction. Easily one of the best EPs of the year so far, Silver Lining is the ideal comeback for a band that is ready to reclaim their place at the very top of the modern French metalcore scene that they worked so hard to establish.

Betraying The Martyrs - Silver Lining

Country: France

Released: 24 June 2022

Label: Out Of Line

Tracklisting:

1. 'Black Hole'

2. 'Pressure'

3. 'Embers'

4. 'Mirror'

5. 'Swan Song'