Exclusive – Norwegian Metallers I The Betrayer Premiere New Single “Slaughterhouse” And Talk About Their Top Five Horror Games
Frontman Chris Wiborg Breaks Down What’s Giving Him The Creeps This Halloween
Norwegian quintet I The Betrayer are set to release their new single “Slaughterhouse” on October 31st, and Devolution are happy to announce the exclusive stream of the track, taken from their upcoming album “Storm Vik” which is set for release in 2023.
Vocalist Chris Wiborg had this to say about the upcoming album:
“This will be the first of a two-part concept album based on a Lovecraftian tale that follows the protagonist, Storm Vik, and his journey into madness.The story takes place in post WW2 Norway, in a town called Rjukan, deep in a valley surrounded by mountains.
Storm Vik, the son of a Special Operation Executive responsible for sabotaging the heavy water plant for the Nazis, follows in the footsteps of his father as chief police constable of Rjukan. The looming threat of the cold war initiates a top secret project to dig deep into the mountain to build a passageway to a mountain top, Gaustatoppen, as a radio relaying station. But they dug too deep…”
The track can be streamed here.
I the Betrayer is made up of five guys from altogether different musical backgrounds brought together by their love of metal, and random chance, to create music which encompasses every part of their collective vision.
Influenced by all kinds of styles, from blues and progressive rock to death metal, they have managed to carve their own identity within the genre. Among the heavy metal chugging and pounding drums, you can expect to hear soaring vocal melodies leading to guttural lows, progressive inspired leads on top of driving metal progressions and contemplative clean passages exploding into a forceful and commanding song.
Their first release “7”, gained critical attention from publications like Metal Hammer and Norway Rock, along with their cover of Avenged Sevenfold’s “Shepherd of Fire”. Having recently released their single “Guise of the Infectious” after the pandemic, the guys are now deep in the production of their new album.
Alongside the release of “Slaughterhouse”, Devolution sat down with Chris and asked him to talk about his top five horror games! Enjoy!
1 Alien Isolation
Chris Wiborg (Vocals) – Someone once told me that HR Giger would have a pen and paper by his bedside and drew his nightmares when he woke up. While I don’t know if this is true or not, this game is a waking nightmare. Like the movies, the game starts slow and eases you into the immersion of the universe as you get more and more invested in the story, the main protagonist, the situation she finds herself in. I love horror games that give you guns that are completely useless against the abomination that hunts you, and this is one of them. The game feels vast and intricate as you’re not just dealing with the Alien, but other survivors and fiends. Arguably one of the best horror games ever conceived.
2 Call of Cthulhu
CW – This 2006 game is terrific, but the Lovecraft world is truly brought to life here. This might not be the scariest o the list, but you could probably put this on a pedestal and just call it art. Much like how Lord of the Rings masterfully brought the world of Orcs, Hobbits, Wizards and Elves to life, Call of Cthulhu gives you the first-hand experience of going mad in this dark, demented tale. Fantastic voice acting, an impressive craftmanship that immerses you in the universe, and a tingling sense of knowing something is wrong at all times.
3 Resident Evil 7
CW – I’ve played all of the Resident Evil games. RE7 managed to bring the game back to its horror roots fantastically. I was unsure if I should put this or Resident Evil 1 on the list, however keeping to the main criteria, this checks off all the boxes and then some. You’re thrown into the deep Louisiana swampland, tapping into all the folklore of the scary and unknown that comes with it. The game was designed for VR, and thus has extreme attention to detail. This game is a heart attack inducing joy ride.
- System Shock 2
CW – 1999 was the year everybody feared the world would go under due, because IT programmers had been too “lazy” to add the full 4 digits in their system coding. Keeping this in mind, Looking Glass Studios released System Shock 2. The first installation was praised for many things, but SS2 had something its prequel did not fully deliver; an unparalleled sense of doom and despair. You are a solder that you can customize with special skills, that wakes up onboard a star ship in a cyberpunk depiction of 2114. A massive incident has devastated the ship and you are tasked with saving the day while staying alive. This isn’t simply a jump-scare old school shooter; the audio, the voice acting, the ambiance; everything about this game creeps you out and makes you second guess your actions. Get the “beautify” and resolution-enhancement mods and enjoy this absolute treasure.
- Outlast
CW – The indie that rocked (my) horror world. You could say the game suffers from a few clichés, such as an Asylum during the night, everlasting darkness that you must navigate through while dodging and hiding from homicidal patients and… other… things. However, the work put into the audio, and atmosphere that stems from the animation, the storyline, and the mechanics, sets it apart from the rabble. Damn this inquisitorial mindset of the devout journalist! A must-play!