DEFIATORY
“HADES RISING”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

10/10

Defiatory are a thrash metal band from Sweden formed in 2015 by guitarist Ronnie Bjornstrom following his departure from Swedish death metal band Aeon. Recruiting Martin Runnzell on vocals, the band released the ‘Furor Unleashed’ demo. ‘Extinct’ is the debut full length album by Defiatory, and was released in 2016. Featuring a huge Bay Area thrash influence, the follow up to the bands debut, ‘Hades Rising’ was released in 2018.

The evolution of the Bay Area thrash metal scene began in the early eighties with Exodus, followed by Metallica and Megadeth, and then Testament and Death Angel. These legendary bands, all still active today, evolved the iconic Bay Area thrash metal sound, that so many bands have followed throughout the years. Today, Defiatory stand tall and very proud, with their new album ‘Hades Rising’ a breath taking journey of classic sounding Bay Area thrash metal…yet the band hail from Sweden, well over 5,000 miles away from where their musical influence lies. Distance is no boundary for Defiatory, as they serve up a spectacular thrash metal treat. Best massage those neck muscles, as the next fifty minutes is gonna test your necks flexibility to its max. With exceptionally high amounts of ferocity and aggression, Defiatory open their new album with the blistering ‘In Hell’. Delivered at a pace that will outrun the Japanese bullet train, ‘In Hell’ is a thunderous opening salvo that will decimate small towns with its brutal force. A huge Testament influence is easily detectable as ‘Dance Of The Dead’ explodes into life and thunders along at a head bangingly addictive pace. After only just two songs of the eleven on offer, this is already a favourite album of mine…

…an album that just gets better and better. With no let up in ferocity ‘King In Yellow’ is menacing and aggressive, a shuddering foot stomp of raw heaviness. Is this what it feels like to have a wrecking ball fall on you? Maybe! Not advisable to try this comparison at home though… you know, health and safety concerns and staying alive! With a savage increase in pace and brutality, ‘Stronger Than God’ is a ferocious rampage that will have you head banging very fast, hopefully you took my earlier advice and massaged those neck muscles… ‘Death Takes Us All’ is a frenetic avalanche of raw brutality, with its chant style chorus “death takes us all” a rousing shout ability that everyone will holler at the tops of their voices. Introducing elements of the traditional heavy metal sound, ‘Morningstar’ is superb. The influence of Testament rises high once again, as does Death Angel and Flotsam And Jetsam. This is cracking stuff from a band whose countries musical heritage is that of the hard rock nature! ‘Down To His Kingdom Below’ is high velocity, extremely fast thrash metal, yet remaining as catchy as hell and highly addictive. ‘Down To His Kingdom Below’ is a corker, and one that will stretch those neck muscles to their limits.

With absolutely no let up in either pace, energy or intensity, the album powers on with the furious ‘Metatron’. Flying by like fighter jets off to war, the pace of ‘Metatron’ is outstanding. Heads will be just a blur as violent head banging ensues, such is the songs explosive barrage. If you’ve ever wondered what the offspring of a Slayer/Testament tryst may sound like, wonder no more, the answer is Defiatory. The extremely fast pace is relentless as ‘Bane Of Creation’ runs amok. Savage and devastating, ‘Bane Of Creation’ is classic sounding thrash metal from an era when the genre was evolving. I grew up during the eighties when the Bay Area thrash metal scene exploded worldwide…Defiatory are taking me back to those wonderful times, raising the hairs on my arms and neck to abnormally high lengths. My love for this album grows even stronger with the thundering aggression offered up by way of ‘All That Remains’. Very intense and in your face, the attitude and aggression levels are sky high. And unbelievably, the final song enters the fray. Has it really been fifty minutes already? ‘Hades Rising’ is a furious flurry of fast paced thrash metal to give your neck one final workout, before pressing the replay button and going again. ‘Hades Rising’ has a chant style chorus, and will have fans all around the world chanting “hades rising” at the tops of their voices. ‘Hades Rising’ (the album) is a savage barrage of thrash metal at its finest, and is an album that has gone straight into my favourites.

Overall, a breath taking journey of intense and extremely fast thrash metal, highly addictive and most definitely one of the best thrash metal albums I have ever heard.

TRACKLIST

In Hell
Dance Of The Dead
King In Yellow
Stronger Than God
Death Takes Us All
Morningstar
Down To His Kingdom Below
Metatron
Bane Of Creation
All That Remains
Hades Rising

http://www.defiatory.se/
https://www.facebook.com/defiatory/

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