Deströyer 666 - Defiance review
Band: | Deströyer 666 |
Album: | Defiance |
Style: | Blackened thrash metal |
Release date: | June 2009 |
01. Weapons Of Conquest
02. I Am Not Deceived
03. Blood For Blood
04. The Barricades Are Breaking
05. Stand Defiant
06. Path To Conflict
07. A Thousand Plagues
08. Human All Too Human
09. A Sermon To The Dead
Deströyer 666 are frequently referred to as "Aussie War Metal". Now, I'm not one for batting around goofball fictitious genre names, but after an album like this it seems very appropriate.
With absolutely no meandering about with useless intros or build-ups, the band automatically kicks into "Weapons Of Conquest". Right away it's obvious the direction the band is starting to head into - cleaner, softer production as opposed to the crusty, abrasive sound the previous albums had. Above everything else, this is a thrash album with black metal elements thrown in, not the other way around. With past efforts the band seemed to sit on the fence between the two genres, but it appears they are now beginning to put a solid foothold in the thrash world. The idea of the black metal elements being whittled away may be very unappealing to many, but rest assured a thrash dominated Deströyer 666 turned out to be a wise move. The best way to describe it would be to picture influences from the Teutonic thrash metal scene, then crank the intensity up by a couple dozen notches, then throw in some black metal along the way. The fury and unrelenting speed in songs like "Weapons Of Conquest", and "I Am Not Deceived" are liable to shatter some teeth if played anywhere above talking level. The impressive part is how the band does not lose any power in their music while transferring to slower paced songs, the most note worthy, and possibly the highlight of the album is "Sermon To The Dead". Imagine if you can, a black metal ballad, where clean singing, painful growls, and serene guitar melodies all weave in and out of one another seamlessly at a slow, trudging pace. The incredibly written epic lyrics thrown on top nearly brought a tear to this reviewers eye.
Despite the obvious move deeper into thrash metal territory, Defiance still holds some ferocious undiluted black metal tracks, which is where a few problems lie. It may be due to the slick production, or just being smack-dab in the middle of a slew of top notch thrash songs, but the straight-forward black metal tracks just come across as predictable and generic - luckily only 2 of these songs come to mind; "The Barricades Are Breaking" and "A Thousand Plagues". Frankly they just seem to be a vain attempt at keeping a pure black metal sound in amongst the otherwise increasing melodic tendencies in their music.
This album could be seen as good or bad depending on the angle you approach it from - if you're looking for black metal Deströyer 666, you're not going to find it (or will probably be disappointed with the degree to which they include it.) On the other hand, if you're looking for thrash metal Deströyer 666 you will be astonished by the ways in which they have expanded their sound, and will most likely hold Defiance as one for the record books.
Rating breakdown
Performance: | 9 |
Songwriting: | 9 |
Originality: | 8 |
Production: | 9 |
Comments
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