Who would have thought? That a little grind (sort of) project started by that guy from December Wolves who also picked up second guitar for Backstabbers Inc and that other guy who used to scream for the latter would turn into this? Back then in the beginning of the first decade of the century, Trap Them And Kill Them, or 77+k7 for short, had a makeshift yellow website where you could download a few demo songs, pretty chaotic stuff that felt like it did belong in the same universe as December Wolves or Watchmaker, but already with a slightly different, hard to describe vibe to it.

Fast forward a few years, and like that scrawny kid who grew up to be a weightlifter who'll kick your ass without even trying, Trap Them tout court explode onto the scene with an equally trimmed and fit sound very much their own and a debut album, 'Sleepwell Deconstructor', carrying that most precious of musical superpowers - the unifying one. Think about it. Trap Them are a band all of "us", this big  heterogeneous alliance of tribes under the banner of Extreme Music - No Boundaries, or True Cult Heavy Metal, can rally around. They have everything anyone could want in a band. Think about it. Since that true arrival in 2007, they haven't really stopped working their asses off, with non-stop touring and a steady stream of ever-improving releases. Work ethic, DIY attitude (they even find time for a blog with all kinds of cool stories!) and a music-before-anything stance that ensures each album, EP or 7" is a necessity for any fan, based on its artistic quality alone. They surround themselves with the best. They tour with the coolest bands, they have Kurt Ballou at the production helm, Justin Bartlett handling most art and they put out stuff on Southern Lord, Deathwish and Prosthetic, for example. "Stuff" means not only CDs but carefully created vinyl and tapes as gorgeous collector's items for the fanatic.

Most importantly, that universalism. The furious whirlwind of Trap Them's songs has Entombed-like groovy weight, punkish urgency and immediacy, thrashy cadency and hardcore shout-alongs, relentless grinder-friendly pounding, and even the intelligence and poignancy of Ryan McKenney's lyrics (which come, according to him, in three versions - lyric sheet, actual album recording and live version) to attract the odd hipster and lend a lasting significance to it all. They're the reason and inspiration for the exposure a lot of cool new bands like The Secret, Black Breath or even Okkultokrati are getting, and two days ago, in what served as the catalyst for this homage of sorts, it was announced via theirs and Southern Lord's Twitter accounts that they would play this year's Roadburn Festival. Where they will fit like a glove, just like they will at Inferno, and just like they would at, say, Wacken, Supersonic, Nuclear War Now!, SWR or Obscene Extreme. Because no one has an excuse to not like Trap Them, not even because of silly scene politics or taste-police exclusivity. That's a rare and wonderful reason enough to celebrate them.

They also have a new album on the way on Prosthetic, called 'Darker Handcraft', and if you haven't pre-ordered it yet, I don't really know what you're doing reading Terrorizer, honestly. I've heard it and it's awesome. Of course. Thank you again, Trap Them.

Trap Them at MySpace

Trap Them's blog

Pre-order 'Darker Handcraft'

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José's Band of the Week happens again next Wednesday, if someone can wrench him from repeated listens of 'Darker Handcraft' while mumbling Roadburn Roadburn Roadburn to himself, that is.