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Rating:
8.9 |
Deströyer 666 - Defiance
19 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.
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Performance:
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9 |
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Songwriting:
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9 |
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Originality:
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8 |
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Production:
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9 |
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Written on 09.09.2009 by
Doc Godin
Former EIC, now semi-retired.
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Comments
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13
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Users visited:
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Indeed this new release is slightly different from their previous albums. But insane solos are here once again and the album delivers a massive and powerfull music. As reported in your review, with its clean vocal parts, the song "A Sermon To The Dead" is rather a surprise from the band. Also they have toned down the speed a tad on this title, but it remains a good ending of the album, by delivering intense emotions.
Anyway good review. |
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Good to see you aboard!!!  |
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routa - 09.09.2009 at 22:18
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Written by White Winter Sun on 09.09.2009 at 20:17
Indeed this new release is slightly different from their previous albums.
Every D666 full lenght is slightly different. Constant evolution. |
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Great disc from them again, and even with the 7 years in between releases, the band hasn't lost their touch whatsoever! "Cold Steel..." is an absolute classic for me, but this disc is a killer companion, and I have no complaints about it, and appreciate the slight changes in their sound as well  More than worthy of a purchase. |
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Written by Guest on 09.09.2009 at 22:18
Written by White Winter Sun on 09.09.2009 at 20:17
Indeed this new release is slightly different from their previous albums.
Every D666 full lenght is slightly different. Constant evolution.
Of course each of their releases are slighty different, they don't play same shit again and again like some bands can make it. I meant that the evolution is even more marked on "Defiance", owing to the time interval since their previous album  |
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| Would "Sermon to the Dead" be anything like Caïna? |
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| Really good album, its by far my favorite from this band. I guess I didn't think much of their older stuff, but this album always kicks my ass... 'I'm not deceived' has some killer bass lines in it : D |
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| Great review.. and I have to agree with Sunioj: it's, by far, my favorite from this band. |
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I hate it when american/english/australian band uses Ö, Å, Ä etc. in their band names. You should hear how we - who uses those letters - pronounce the names like Deströyer, Motörhead, Mötley then.  |
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Good review.
I've always been very interested in this band, but keep forgetting to check them out. I think I'd better pick this one up though. |
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HAIL SATAN ..
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| Nice review. Though yes I can't see it surpassing my favourite releases from Deströyer 666, that's only because it would be hard to beat such brilliant material they've come up with in the past. Defiance is definitely an excellent album. |
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| Album of the fucking year (though not D666's best). "I Am Not Deceived" is the high point, in my opinion, especially with the solo at 2:25. Perfectly captures what the album's about. |
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