Treason

In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife or that of a master by his servant. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a lesser superior was petty treason. A person who commits treason is known in law as a traitor.

Oran's Dictionary of the Law (1983) defines treason as "...[a]...citizen's actions to help a foreign government overthrow, make war against, or seriously injure the [parent nation]." In many nations, it is also often considered treason to attempt or conspire to overthrow the government, even if no foreign country is aiding or involved by such an endeavor.

Outside legal spheres, the word "traitor" may also be used to describe a person who betrays (or is accused of betraying) his own political party, nation, family, friends, ethnic group, team, religion, social class, or other group to which he may belong. Often, such accusations are controversial and disputed, as the person may not identify with the group of which he is a member, or may otherwise disagree with the group members making the charge. See, for example, race traitor, often used by White supremacists, or Black supremacists, or directed at people in inter-racial relationships (cf. miscegenation).

Traitors (album)

Traitors is the third studio album by American deathgrind band Misery Index. It was engineered and produced by Kurt Ballou and released through Relapse Records on September 30, 2008. A video was released for the song "Traitors".

Critical reception

Scott Alisoglu, reviewing the album for Blabbermouth.net, considered the songs on the album more varied and the songwriting better than on the preceding Discordia album, and also noted an increased sense of melody.Pitchfork Media's Cosmo Lee stated that Ballou had achieved "a sound falling somewhere between 'battering ram' and 'machine gun'", calling the album a "thought-provoking package", with lyrical themes varying from criticism of the US government to celebrity worship. According to Allmusic writer Greg Prato, the band "keep things as precise, tight, and brutal as possible from start to finish", and called the album "a complete sonic assault". The album was named "Album of the Month" by Terrorizer magazine in November 2008.

Track listing