Confessions Of A Traitor: This Pain Will Serve You | Metalcore Is Here to Stay
(2025 – Facedown Records)
It’s a cliché, and something that really doesn’t grab your attention anymore. Metalcore is the genre that has been making the most noise in “heavy” music for several years now, and that’s no surprise to anyone. Well, mark Confessions Of A Traitor down as one of its potential leading players. Let’s explain why.
I’ll be honest. I really didn’t expect much from this album. At this point, one is tired of listening to thousands of bands that sound more or less the same, especially in this particular genre. However, Confessions Of A Traitor sounded like the most interesting thing I’ve heard lately, and I particularly think “This Pain Will Serve You” is one of the best Metalcore albums I’ve come across in a while.
The band manages to capture a melancholic, dense, and dark atmosphere on this album, with a sound of their own that sets them apart from other references in the genre. I’m not exaggerating when I say that Confessions Of A Traitor has managed to move someone who doesn’t usually navigate these waters.
At the time, we had the opportunity to hear a preview of this album. This physical edition we have in our hands confirms what we had already anticipated. It is worth noting that there are several special guests and collaborations, such as “Moments,” “Exist Immortal,” “Sarea,” “Holy Name,” “War Of Ages,” etc., on many of the tracks included. There are so many special guests that we could easily call the album “Confessions Of A Traitor and Friends.”
Joking aside, the album kicks off with “Starve,” a rather rap-heavy track with a lot of grinding, featuring ‘Moments’ as guests. “Fatal Frame” follows, with the kind of melancholy, melody, and furious rapping that characterizes the band. However, “Doomsayer,” with its energetic discharge (and the participation of “Exist Immortal”) and its dark conception, seemed to us to be one of the best things on the album.
Things seem much more rotten in “Midnight Sun” (here Sarea appears as a participant), although following the line of the album: these are strong, rotten bases and clean-voiced choruses. In reality, it’s nothing we haven’t heard before, but Confessions Of A Traitor achieves it with its own personality. The vibe changes completely in “Still Haunted,” a clearly melancholic piece (with Holy Name and Heal The Hurt as guests), at half speed and with a much denser tempo.
In “Love You Left Behind” we find a kind of ballad that is catchy and rather designed for modern ears. “Noble Boom” is another furious and rotten rap that blends with classic Metalcore choruses. “Hail Mary” at least shows some riffs closer to Metal, but ultimately not too surprising, as well as featuring Convictions as guests.
“Let It Consume Me” has a modern intent in its structure, sound, and concept. With the participation of War Of Ages, its hardcore and nü metal-inspired base doesn’t really tell us much. Things seem different in “The Sins I’ve Yet To Answer For,” a sharp, hard-hitting track that’s much more effective than anything else we hear on the rest of the album. Without a doubt one of the best tracks.
The finale comes with “Half Life” (featuring Black Coast), another effective firecracker that justifies the album much more.
It’s clear that Confessions Of A Traitor didn’t invent anything. Nor do we believe that their intention is to “revolutionize” the metalcore genre. Their style is not very different from what we already know. Even so, they manage to leave their own mark with this album, achieving a sound of their own, although we don’t think variety is one of this album’s strengths. The structure of the songs included in general doesn’t vary much from one another, except on rare occasions. If we had to highlight something, the melancholic and dark feel given to the overall sound turns out to be a positive point.
What we didn’t like at all is this physical CD edition. Digipack editions are not our favorite to begin with, but at least in this version, something better could have been done. All we find is a simple cardboard box with the lyrics printed on the inside in an almost illegible size. In other words, cost cutting. It doesn’t even include a booklet to justify purchasing the physical format. It’s a shame, because the cover is really striking and original, it must be said. The truth is that, in terms of graphics, the only thing that saves it is the album cover. Let’s hope that in the future, the folks at Facedown Records will take more into account those of us who prefer the physical format over the digital one.
The lyrics revolve around personal and spiritual issues. Excellent lyrics and good tone. Far from the typical Christian clichés, as we already pointed out, the sound is truly excellent. It’s not surprising, but it stays within current parameters in terms of the mix and final result, highlighting the dark and melancholic atmosphere that this production sought to convey.
Above all, we believe that “This Pain Will Serve You” is one of the best albums released this year in a genre as popular as metalcore. Beyond the thousands of similar-sounding offerings out there, Confessions Of A Traitor is an excuse to find something perhaps a little different, but not much more than that.
As a sample, we leave you with the official video clip for the song “Still Haunted,” from this album, and of course, ways to find these guys on social media and find out all their latest news…
https://www.facebook.com/confessionsofatraitor
https://www.instagram.com/confessionsofatraitor
