Verrat – Abgebrannt EP

Dark hardcore and crust punk are genres bursting with hordes of technically skilled and heavy bands, yet many fail to truly stand out because they lack that crucial spark of supercharged energy. It’s not just about hammering out metallic riffs—there needs to be a sense of unbridled passion and originality to really make a record hit home.

Verrat’s Abgebrannt is a six-track 12-inch EP that delivers plenty of solid elements that fans of the genre will recognize and appreciate. The metallic riffs lean heavily into the emotional crust territory of Tragedy while borrowing melodic influences from Swedish melo-death heavyweights like At The Gates and In Flames. The gruff, growling vocals and pummeling tempo bring a certain intensity, and the melodies threaded throughout the tracks add a layer of depth that gives the record its dark, brooding character.

However, while the musicianship is undeniably solid, Abgebrannt feels like it’s missing that vital, gut-punching spark. The raw aggression and wall-of-noise chaos that make crust punk so visceral are notably absent here, leaving the record feeling a bit too polished and restrained for its own good. The result is an album that’s competent and well-executed but struggles to deliver the emotional weight and raw power that could have made it truly unforgettable.

That said, this isn’t a bad record by any means—it just didn’t click with me in the way I hoped. For listeners who gravitate toward melodic, death-metal-leaning crust with gruff vocals and lyrics in German, Abgebrannt may well tick all the right boxes. Verrat has certainly carved out a niche with their polished, dark hardcore sound, and there’s plenty here for fans of this particular style to enjoy.

While it didn’t quite land for me, there’s enough here to suggest that Verrat has the potential to evolve and deliver something more impactful in the future.