Critical Defiance
“Rivers Of Blood”
Dying Victims (2026)
Chile’s
Critical Defiance never cease to amaze me. The band is about to unleash its
fourth full-length album and once again, its musical content comes as a
surprise. The previous album had already shown that the group had no intention
of holding back and wanted to experiment stylistically. There were more
crossover elements, boldly marrying thrash metal with other genres, ranging
from the more extreme ones to those that were decidedly more mainstream and
even non-metal. One may have doubts whether all of these experiments worked or
not, but you certainly cannot deny the band’s courage and inventiveness. With
“Rivers Of Blood” the challenge was taken up by Essen-based label Dying
Victims, which put its faith in the band’s abilities, and I believe it made a
very good decision. The fourth album from these guys may leave more than a few
listeners stunned, especially those who have heard the band’s previous records.
Over the course of half an hour, the musicians make it abundantly clear that
the main theme of this release will be their flirtation with black metal and
acoustic passages. I have nothing against that, apart from the fact that I
actually had to check whether I had been sent the correct promo. Critical
Defiance very often doesn’t sound like Critical Defiance here at all, but
rather like some Swedish melodic black/death metal band from the mid-’90s.
There are nods towards Dissection and Dawn, plenty of melody built around
tremolo riffs, and yet the precision of the performance, the “floating” bass
and the sheer speed at which these guys hammer out their material leave no doubt
that everything here is entirely intentional. You have to wait until the fifth
track, the nearly eight-minute “Valparaiso”, to hear the classic Critical
Defiance sound. Sung in Spanish, this song about the titular Chilean city is a
thrash tour-de-force, packed with a multitude of motifs and featuring
absolutely killer musicianship, topped off with a fantastic acoustic passage in
the middle of the song. The tracks that follow, however, leave no doubt that
the band’s fascination with black metal still has even more room to manifest
itself on this release. I’m hardly a black metal devotee, but with this level
of execution I have no complaints whatsoever — I can simply sit back, listen
and revel in it. For me, Critical Defiance are currently one of the most interesting
— perhaps even the most interesting — active thrash bands out there, and their
subsequent releases continue to have a great deal of intriguing material to
offer. Weak points? The cover artwork. Ugly, garish and thoroughly uninviting.
Did I mention ugly? Other than that, this is an album I can wholeheartedly
recommend listening to — and even buying. Okay, I still believe their debut,
“Misconception”, is a record they have yet to surpass, and probably never will,
but these guys continue to deliver high-octane, high-quality music.
Harlequin
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