The opening track on “The Traitor” by Contemporary Metal/Deathcore outfit NULLED, comes skulking out of the shadows like an assassin in a cybernetic apocalypse game. Aptly titled “65432” it is as ambiguous as it is ominous. The first minute is synth-fuel Atmospheric with a heavy touch of finely executed percussion. The last 30 seconds is all out Deathcore. While this particular track cleanly separates these two elements, the remainder of the album mixes them in diverse ways to varying degrees of success.

Formed in 2018 in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain the quintet has released one EP and two full-length studio albums to date. “The Traitor,” their latest, was released on February 16, 2024 via Art Gates Records. The album comprises ten tracks with a full runtime of 47 minutes. Musically, this is textbook Deathcore, trading back and forth between guttural and clean vocals; balancing groove-laden, staccato riffs with melodic, down-tuned rhythms; layering in synths—both as undercurrents and flourishes; and venturing into the edges of Industrial. There are also technical lead solos and even some vocal choruses to keep things interesting. The band clearly pushed their boundaries, experimenting with an interesting range of techniques. 

The standout tracks come early. “Dreams” is a quintessential Deathcore track, with velvety clean vocals offset by glass-shard gutturals. A trippy synth break at mid-point gives the track a Cosmic Psych vibe before getting back to the Death assault. “Embracing the Darkness” is second on my standout list for its explorations of sonically freakish delights. This is where the band puts the studio to full use, bending in some intriguing movements without shifting too far away from their core. This isn’t the case with tracks like “Pt. 1 Love” which features a long synth intro, a short meaty center with thick slabs of metal and grit, and then a long synth outro. “Survive and Suffer” is another track that suffers from too much synth.

I loved the production of this album most of all—which I know is odd, but the album just sounds great from an engineering standpoint. Unfortunately, I don’t think the majority of the actual compositions meet the same standards. It could be “The Traitor” is too ambitious for a full-length album and an EP may have sufficed. But then again, if Deathcore is your jam, then it just might be the album of the year for you.