Young-guns The Eyes of a Traitor come out of the UK strong with their first full-length release. Signed to UK indie label Thirty Days of Night (who also discovered Gallows and Bring Me the Horizon) at the ripe age of 16, this young metalcore group has recently signed to the legendary Listenable Records. This is a band that has really made a name for themselves over the pond, and A Clear Perception is a wonderfully promising look at the young The Eyes of a Traitor.

With what some may call a melodic death metal sound, the band features brutal vocals, thick guitar tones with unique leads, and driving drums. The band gives glimpses of Misery Signals and Architects in their songs, while very much retaining their own uniqueness.

The album itself is 10 songs finishing at 40:30 - a comfortable length - and every track has a "special something", a unique sound, while still upholding the integrity of the album as a whole. The sound is mature, the lyrics are mature, and it is a record I would expect a band to put out as perhaps their second or third full-length release. It will certainly make it difficult for this young band to top what they have done on A Clear Perception, but I for one have become a huge fan of the band simply because of this album. The flow of it is nice, with the opening tracks featuring a simply crushing tone and demanding attention. It reaches a sort of cooling-off section halfway through at the song Decorus, and revs right back up through the end of the record, finishing with the instrumental title track.

Must-listen tracks: The opening track Under Seige, Escape These Walls, and Echoes. Wonderfully constructed song structure and producion/sound quality, I am, to put it short, impressed, and I am excited to see where this band will go in the future. In closing, to put it simply, I would highly recommend A Clear Perception to any metal fan.

***.5/5