The Unguided have decided to rework the old Fallen Angels song Betrayer of the Code. They redid everything from the lyrics, to the riffs, to the artwork (which had the tattoo from Eden Fire and the blood which was really cool!) going off the original version (of the music). What an improvement this song has made! In case you don’t know, Fallen Angels preceded Sonic Syndicate which preceded The Unguided. This song is a preface to the full remake of the entire demo. This song has single handedly re-defined Melodic Death Metal for me. Here’s why:
Instrumentals:
This song does something you don’t see every day. It has a guitar solo in the very early going. Richard has barely said a few words when Roland starts melting our faces. Before the solo we have very melodic and ominous keyboards which is something I’d like to see a lot of from Roger. He really takes you back to the Eden Fire era with this and it was amazing all the way through.This is the epitome of melodic to me. This is the part that re-defines the melodic in melodeath. The whole song re-defines the entire genre! The riffs for all of the Instruments are very melodic throughout the song. At times it’s very heavy which is a wonderful contrast to the melody even though it’s still present.
What really intrigues me is the guitar riff from Roland. He has 3 solos throughout the song. It almost seems like he’s building his part up through the song separately. Each solo becomes more amazing until the third makes you play air guitar while your eyeballs are melting. Roland has made me a huge fan of technical guitar playing and solos which were previously less important to me. I have tremendous respect to anybody who can play two instruments at once and I can see a specific style developing with Roland. He seems to like trills in the background sometimes which I also like a lot. I wish he’d do a few more but that is a stupid complaint.
Overall: 5+/5! This song was perfect here. I realistically can’t criticize something this amazing. Greatest instrumental song I’ve yet to hear. Another job well done Roland and Roger!
Vocals/Lyrics:
In the past I’ve praised Richard more than I have Roland vocally, this time I think Roland’s vocals were as good if not better than Richard’s. Roland is the story of this song. However, I’m going to save him until after Richard because his comments are longer.
As always, impeccable job on the lyrics Richard. My hat is off to you. Again, Richard poured his heart and soul and very living essence into his vocal performance and songwriting. The lyrics are more to the death metal style instead of Richard’s philosophical style which is a good way to keep us honest. I love his screams, especially when he goes high. This time we heard a good bit of his lower register. Honestly I love the fact that he has a large range and I like to see him use it entirely. His extreme low is as good as his high. I also think he adds a nice demonic feeling to his screams here. Maybe it was the riff that helped that but i think this was an intended sound. I loved it. The demonic style fits him well, although i do enjoy his philosophy too. The demonic sound was a really nice flashback to Eden Fire. Now to Roland.
The headliner for this song as stated before is definitely Roland. He does everything vocally and with his guitar. He adds his aggressive low range cleans and even a few screams I believe. I love when he goes down there in heavier songs because it really accents all of the work that everyone has contributed. He really exercises his full range as did Richard. He also put in an ominous vocalization during the slower part of the song in the chorus. He also does this thing in the chorus where it sounds a little falsetto. I love when he does that as well the aggressive lows. This guy has not received enough credit from me in the previous review. Here, it is all his. I not only remove my hat to him, I wave it around, scream, and then hurl it in his direction in salute.
Other Notes: I loved the way it climaxed at the end when the chorus was repeated several times. It got better each time until it couldn't get any better and the song had to end.
Overall: pure perfection! 5+/5! This is the best vocal and lyrical masterpiece I’ve heard in my lifetime!
Overall Song: 6/5! I know that’s awful math but this is the BEST song EVER! I haven’t stopped listening to it all day and This song will stay with me for a long time. This was a great decision by the 3 Rs to appease us fans with this song. This is their best song among all 3 bands and it will certainly hold us over until the full LP. I look forward to that more than anything right now.
Good Buy?: I’ve already betrayed the code! I bought one of the limited 616 merch. I urge you, rather implore you to buy this even if you’ve never heard of this band before. You will be happy! Buy here: http://despotz.bigcartel.com/product/the-unguided-botc-unisex-t-shirt-signed-poster-and-mp3
and here: http://sixonesix.se/
the second one takes you to a place where you can get to the first link or you can go to iTunes or Amazon from there. Support the cause and go check out their forum here: http://lestat.rymdraket.net/tu_forum/index.php
Thx for reading!
CJ
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