Defiance

Album Review

In a medium — black metal — where lyrical misanthropy and musical violence are basic career requirements rather than hard-won superlatives, a little thing called "attitude" often plays a bigger part in separating the men from the boys...the head-chomping balrogs from the butt-pinching imps, if you like. And attitude is something that the Australian-born, later Europe-based, Destroyer 666 have always delivered in spades (notwithstanding a few iffy production jobs along the way), ever since they originated as an inconspicuous, mid-'90s solo project of former Bestial Warlust guitarist K.K. Warslut. But with the release of their fourth full album, Defiance, in 2009, the group was emerging from a six-year hiatus (quite possibly 6 years, 6 months and 6 days, in fact) that no doubt left their followers' confidence shaken. All for naught, as it were, since Defiance revealed itself to be as potent as any previous Destroyer 666 effort, and one of their best recorded to boot, despite retaining a patented amount of dirt around the edges, in accordance with the band's passion for old-school black metal. Modern day fans accustomed to breakneck tempos still get their money's worth thanks to a fearsome set of blackened death/thrash onslaughts, including "Weapons of Conquest," "I Am Not Deceived," and the simply awesome "The Barricades Are Breaking" — all of them positively basking in a glorious cacophony, salivating with evil intent and, yes, boasting boatloads of attitude. Possibly even more impressive, though, are ensuing cuts like "Blood for Blood" and "I Stand Defiant," which take a more measured approach by locking into steady, almost deliberate marches of all-consuming dread; their riffs woven with insidious melodies that prove as captivating as the album's take-you-by-the-throat thrashers, and culminate in the majestic opening for the formidable "Human All Too Human." Frankly, only the album's concluding "Sermon to the Dead" results in a misfire, when it tries to incorporate clean vocals that never quite gel with the surrounding maelstrom; but by this stage in the game, one is more than willing to give the band a break over such details. All things considered, then, Destroyer 666's long anticipated comeback is a victory on virtually all fronts, a worthy addition to the group's consistent body of work, and certifiable evidence that the inexorable passage of time can always be overcome with serious attitude.