Over the years of writing album reviews, I try every once in awhile to make room for a new album by a band that I really haven’t heard too much from. This mindset has landed me on a gold mine that is Blissfucker (Prosthetic Records) by grindcore/hardcore outfit, Trap Them. This newest release from the four grinders marks the first release with new bassist, Galen Baudhuin, as well as new drummer, Brad Fickeisen (formerly of The Red Chord). Being quite a big fan of The Red Chord, I knew I was in for a treat to hear Brad record again, this time for Trap Them. Blissfucker truly helps after a long, stressful day of work and all you want is to knock your manager’s teeth into the back of his throat. A big selling point for this album, every song has a different vibe/feel, making each track a whole different adventure then the last.

The opening track, ‘Salted Crypts’, starts of the album with a backbreaking riff that sends a warning of what to expect. This is just one of those tunes that you can’t help but headbang to, no matter the environment. A little farther down the track list is quite the epic ‘Sanitations.’ Through most of the song you have that old rock n’ roll feel to the drum beat which is always a fan favorite for those who throw up the devil horns. Then the outro hits you, ready or not. I can only explain the last minute of the song as epic in the sense that it has that “end-of-album” feel to it. The good news, this track only places us halfway through the album. For those who love the thrash side of Trap Them, I recommend ‘Former Lining Wide the Walls.’ Fans of thrash will be able to agree this song is a burner as any air guitarist will start feeling the burn. For those in the pit, this will be a circle pit song without a doubt in my mind as the song progresses from thrash beat, to blast beats, back to thrash beat. Just as fast as that track was, the next one up, “Savage Climbers” slows things down with one of the heaviest riffs on the album that is sure to get stuck in your head. This also marks the longest track on Blissfucker, coming in at 7:28. Some people complain that grindcore needs to stay short. I say Trap Them proves them wrong on this track! This collection of chaos known as Blissfucker comes to an end with ‘Let Fall Each and Every Sedition Symptom.’ This closer has a similar feel to ‘Savage Climbers’ as it keeps that nice heavy groove going over other tracks that are based off of speed. Ok I lied. The last minute is Trap Them throwing everything they have at you with blastbeats that get faster and faster until you swear your speakers are about to break. Then, a pick scrape followed by silence to end the album. Genius!

Having only seen Trap Them live in passing once at a New England Heavy Metal and Hardcore Festival a few years back, I couldn’t really say I was a fan of the band. Not saying they didn’t sound good, but I just wasn’t paying attention. Now that I have listened to it a countless amount of times, I have to say, I really hope I get a chance to see them live and actually pay attention this time! My real only grievance with the album was that some of the transitions were a little strange for me. I would be enjoying one song, it would enter the part of the song that a listener would expect a last note or fade out to a second or two of silence. Instead, the next track would just hit instantly and didn’t allow time to have that last track sink in. There were other transitions that worked perfectly in the albums so it wasn’t like it kills the overall value of the record but I had to say something I didn’t like about Blissfucker… and that was it. My advice if you have never listened to Trap Them, get on this bandwagon before these guys run you over with it.

8/10

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TIM LEDIN