Defiance were second wave speed/thrash metal band from San Francisco's Bay Area. 'Beyond Recognition' is their third, final album. I knew the band before by name, but got this album a while ago for 4 Euros. Never heard 'em before this.

It can be hear, that Defiance came after the inventors. The band have one clear influence, namely Testament. 'Dead Silence' is very similar to 'Souls of Black' (1990) era Testament, being more direct and heavier than majority of the stuff. Defiance are kind of quirky; a lot of tempo changes, changing time signatures and quite technical performance from the players. At first few listenings, the music is partly quite hard to follow, but then song structures become clearer and what I wanted to call "patchy song writing" changed to "seeking personality with song writing". The songs have catchy parts, but they're not of "hit" type and only two or three songs roll really well from start to finish. But points for seeking personality, since I can't think of any other band sounding like this. There's good riffs, but only a couple killer ones. Solos are more of technical than memorable kind, damn. The music has dark aura over it, acoustic guitars are used to add more of it, as used to do back then.

The music is heavy at times, but real punch and power is absent. I blame the song writing, but vocals are the main reason really. Vocalist Steev Esquivel's voice could be easily mixed with Chuck Billy's at points. Mr. Esquivel has personal touches for sure, but still his voice lacks of power. He doesn't sound angry but rarely. Lyrics lack of hate, even though they are pointed towards American society and stupid wars. Sometimes he sounds okay, but he's not a very competent singer. Lower, calmer parts are worst. And ones with effect, but these are very rare. Ballsless vocals multiply the lack of power in this album, I think. I must admit I kind of like his voice when he's not doing that lower stuff. Even shredding guitars and rhythmical beats can't save a lot at points. Points for shredding guitar sound and drummer who clattered cymbals and played great beats. Sound is okay for its age. The band might have well sounded like this live. It's mixed nicely, by which I mean eg. some cymbals come only from one side.

Cover art is lovely. I'm getting fed up with modern computer graphics. So much of it is done by beginners. This cover is painted. Yellow/purple logo! Seriously, who does it nowadays? Nobody! Simple and tasteless layout, but so fucking thrash! But sadly I got a CD, not vinyl, which is the right channel for this stuff, music- and graphics-wise.

I have heard much more lame speed/thrash metal. When this was released, speed/thrash metal was already suffering death convulsions. 'Beyond Recognition' might seriously lack of power and aggression, but different approach on the song writing saves a lot and raises this above the mass of average. This is more about the music than the attitude. Some bands didn't have either. Great for 4 Euros, but I wouldn't pay full price (well, not by Finnish price tag at least).

Rating: 6+ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
02/19/2004 20:46