TRAITOR's BURDEN is a Modern, Progressive Metal band based out of Finland. "A Taste of Violence" is the band's debut full-length, and contains six tracks. "Wolfpack" leads off the album. It opens hard and heavy, with aggressive harsh vocals. The rhythm section here carries most of the burden of the song, along with some Finnish style melodies in the chorus. The meter shifts several times throughout, showcasing the band's ability to play Progressive Metal well.

"Pariah" is next. It's another heavy song, with Deathcore like vocals. The rhythms again here tell the story. They are weighted, and with a peculiar cadence. The clean vocals are a bit unexpected here, but they work. "The Unflesh" opens with some eerie guitar tones before the weight of the song drops. In addition to the rhythmic attacks, the vocals are varied here as well...at times shorter bursts of anger, while other times raging and guttural. The instruments work in synergy with one another...this part they have down. Those eerie guitar tones return towards the end.

"Aeon Splitter" opens with some swirling keys and more of those heavy rhythms. In this sense, they remind me of MESHUGGAH. They split atoms with all of the changes in the cadence. I can honestly do however without the clean vocals. The music is very dark and foreboding, so the clean vocals get in the way of this to some extent. "Melano Helios" opens with a slower rhythm, and some Djenty guitar parts. The lead guitar parts bring some subtle melody to the table, along with a bit of mystery. "Endless Below" closes the album. It's a short, solemn acoustical guitar song with clean, melancholy vocals. I like the sound here. It's really unlike the heavy burden of the other songs, and gives the album a soft send-off.

Overall, I really hear some things I like here, but this debut album from a fledging band is not without some faults. The instrumentation is excellent. The rhythms get going and you forget about the world outside of you. They pulse with power and imagination. The clean vocals, I could take them or leave them. The commanding nature of the music doesn't lend itself to clean vocals per se, unless they were bringing accompanying melodies with them, which they don't. But, this is just my opinion. The band is talented for sure, and they will figure the rest of it out with a future release.