Deströyer 666 - Defiance (2009)

Defiance might have arrived after a six-year gap in releases, the longest Deströyer 666 had gone since their inception, but when it did arrive, it was like a crushing tank phalanx committed to destruction, one of the heaviest albums they've ever done while still retaining a lot of those core aesthetics. It's almost like if Phoenix Rising were forced, Alex from Clockwork Orange-style, into a chair and forced to listen to the Bolt Thrower catalogue from 1989-1995, to the point that it threaded that more warlike aspect back into their style, but in a different way than the reckless black/death of the early years. Obviously it's got a lot more dynamic range than that band, not to mention speed, but there's a similar grim purpose to tracks like "Weapons of Conquest" and "Path to Conflict", especially on the mid-paced, double-bass driven sequences.

That said, they've also got a lot of melody and airiness rising to the top here which continue to set up the material to follow, and there's a great deal of musicality here while simultaneously sounding much more muscular than Cold Steel...for an Iron Age. This is where those upper-range guitars, especially the leads really shine, with just enough flange or other effects spun onto them to make them scream out across the hellish battlescape. There are bolder, louder production aesthetics, after all the needle had moved in this regard for most of the genre, but it still sounds brazen and fiery and pissed off, just not as nasty and raw as the prior full-length because the hammering volume and intensity won't allow for it. Chris Menning aka Mersus, returning from Cold Steel..., has a great performance here, not just of technicality, but how thunderous and potent his drumming comes across in the mix, creating a foundation for the great rhythm guitar and Warslut's noxious, nihilistic vocals which also resemble Phoenix Rising to me.

I realize some folks had dropped off Deströyer 666 by this point, perhaps by the slight stylistic shifts, production standards, controversy, or geographical relocation (they'd since moved from Australia to Europe and London), but I have to admit I'm in the opposite direction, because these last couple decades have really ramped up my appreciation of the band. I already enjoyed the other full-lengths, some quite so, but Defiance just ushered in an entire new era which is never far from my stereo...not only do they check the black metal boxes I require, but this record gives me a little more of a death metal fix than I'd have expected, the sound is enormous and atmospheric, they're always willing to embellish their more predictable rhythm riffs with just a minimalistic but memorable level of melody, and lyrics that live up to the record title for sure. The longer pauses between albums would also continue, but this well worth the wait, and so too its successor.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

https://www.destroyer666.uk/