When you think of metal, specifically anything with the label, "Death Metal", typically you don't think of positivity. CONFESSIONS OF A TRAITOR have chosen to blaze their own trail through lyrics that encourage us and talk of hope. This London based band has carved quite the following for themselves thusly. Turns out we, the audience, do love to hear thrash vocals that are sung to remind us to never give up. With all the negativity in this world it is truly nice to hear lyrics written like these. CONFESSIONS OF A TRAITOR are well known in the underground metal scene for putting on an amazing live show. They carry much of this passion and momentum to their newest released "Guided". This album comes to us after the release of two EP's, one in 2014 "Seasons", and another in 2016 "Illuminate". After much hard work and a couple very awesome guests in the album, we are blessed with this masterpiece. Twelve songs full of mighty words, throaty vocals, and accompanied by passionate musical overtones.

"Kansas" - A great intro. It sets the stage for the rest of the album easily by its fast notes, it truly dives us right into the wave. This short intro tells us to never give up on our beliefs and to think outside the box. Such a great and hard-hitting way to entice us to continue down this path. "A Truthful Heart" - Begs us to remove our masks and be truthful to who we are. Such powerful words! But those words are sung to intensely played melodic metal. A beautiful combination. One must always be true to oneself in order to be happy in life. "Myra ft Ryan Kirby of FIT FOR A KING" - A song about loss and recovery. Definitely a subject many have had to cope with. Loss is always a hard bridge to walk. This song tells us we can make it through these dark times with our faith, with much heavy hitting guitar and drums to boot.

"Ocean Air" - We are never truly alone, even when we think we are most alone. There is always someone out there who cares. Whether is some random stranger reaching out to tell you to hold on one more day and not give up the fight, or a family member or loved on. Never hesitate to reach out, as someone will always respond. So many times, I have been gifted encouraging words by the least likely strangers, remember we are all brothers and sisters in this reality. We are truly connected. "Early Hours" - This song hits a very personal subject for me, as someone I deeply care about suffers night seizures. This song is about a man who tries to stay awake to avoid the demons that haunt him in the night through sleep paralysis. We may not ever be able to truly avoid all that haunts us, but we can persist through it and never give up. "Fearless" - Another personal anthem for me. Life has not always been easy and I doubt myself so many times, yet when I stop and look back, I am truly fearless in overcoming. We must remember to see our strength when we feel the weakest, when we cannot see it. We must know the warriors we are and fight on.

CONFESSIONS OF A TRAITOR I truly appreciated your album this morning. I feel empowered and strong. "Guided" to know and love myself. This album is one of near perfect production throughout and thoughtfully written lyrics. "Guided" sets the bar high for metal in general and I am excited to see their future endeavors. If I could rate higher than a 10 for songwriting I would! 10's all around for these guys they earned it.