Lostprophets, The Betrayed

Posted on 28th Jan 10 by Jonathan Keane | 0

It’s almost a bit odd to think that Lostprophets have been on the go since 2000, seeing as The Betrayed is only their fourth release. The band has always taken lengthy and somewhat unnecessary gaps between all the albums – predecessor Liberation Transmission stretches back to 2006.

Lostprophets, The Betrayed

Upon the release of their debut thefakesoundofprogress some British press hailed the Welch boys as saviours of a fledgling alternative rock scene in the UK. With hindsight, it’s easy to smirk, especially considering such remarks at the time were also made about, ahem… A.

But credit where it’s due, they’ve undergone various transformations and risen to hefty eminence. It’s seen their profile morph into something colossal, taking them to the top of album charts and arena tours with it all capping off by headlining the Download Festival in 2008, much to the chagrin of many punters though.

In the process they’ve become stars on both sides of the pond, with new fans every time around just lapping them up. So, with just an eyelash under four years passing since their last creative output, the simplest of all questions rears its head: is The Betrayed any good? Yes it is, good and solid to a degree but lacking that edge that every rock band needs; that edge that makes them beguiling.

First single, It’s Not The End Of The World, But I Can See It From Here has been doing the rounds now for a while. The track’s simple chorus and structure is pretty much the essence of the now seemingly weathered ‘prophets sound. While, it may incite a sing along from the die hard, to the outsider it’s rather forgettable.

Meanwhile, Where We Belong, also a single, is the unabashed feel good anthem aimed insistently for radio stations everywhere. Vacuous it may be but it’s hard to fault any band that is simply harnessing their strengths as much as possible.

Much of the Lostprophets cycle has been a de-harshening of their sound and sanding down of their balls. But balls they still have as Next Stop, Atro City attests. It harks back to much of their older material, an extremely welcomed development. Unfortunately, much of The Betrayed remains plodding along on the same routine path though. Much of the hooks that were ever present before just aren’t here with the RATM influenced riffs of Dstryr/Dstryr drifting off into a void somewhere.

The Betrayed passes off as being designed to please those who loved Liberation Transmission but it’s still a record that will translate beautifully live. It sticks rigidly to the tried and tested format and keeps snug in a pristine production job.

Drop-d Rating: 6/10

Lostprophets site

Tags: A, Download Festival, Liberation Transmission, Lostprophets, The Betrayed