Band:	Defiance
Album:	The Prophecy
Style:	Thrash metal
Release date:	October 19, 2009
Guest review by:	Huntteri

01. Prion
02. The Prophecy
03. Bastard Son
04. The War Inside
05. Fuel The Fire
06. Eschaton
07. Sloth
08. Desert Sands
09. Dissolving Around You
10. Asthmaphere
11. Eyes Of The Front

Does the name Defiance mean anything to you? It doesn't? Well, I'm not surprised. Defiance has never been one of the famous bay area bands, which is a real shame because they released a couple of really great albums but like every other second-wave thrash bands, Defiance was forced to quit due the growing popularity of grunge. After several years of silence Defiance came back and rejoined the living like every other thrash band from the 80's/early 90's because of the thrash revival. But as we know, things don't always go as planned. Doug Harrington sadly passed away in the middle of the album making process and the singer, Steev Esquivel, left the band to make music with his own band, Skinlab. But enough of the history, let's look at the album!

Defiance has always had this thin yet effective guitar sound, which could be called their trademark. In my opinion it's really great to hear that old-school sound after hearing how other old-school thrashers have "updated" their sound. So this begins well and the band grabs you by the balls right away with a killer opener "Prion", but also proves that the album didn't have the biggest budget. The mixing is far from best; drums are too loud and Steev's voice is really unclear. I know he can't have the same voice he had in Beyond Recognition but vocally compared to Skinlab's latest album, his voice sounds really unclear. Some people say he really sounds like that, but after I had listened Skinlab's latest, I find it really hard to believe.

Songs on this album are full of great riffs and drum parts. Mark Hermandez is a great drummer and does his job respectfully. You won't find those complicated jazz-rhythms Defiance had in Beyond Recognition, this album is balls out thrashing in the vein of Void Terra Firma. Even though I like this album, I have to admit that this sounds rushed and some parts in some songs are weird. I guess that after loosing a band member (Harrington) who wrote most of the riffs with other members (Adams) makes it really hard to make as great riffs, and I can understand that. But it doesn't change the fact that the songs don't sound as well thought out as the older songs and because of that the album doesn't sound as original as their previous work.

If you like old-school thrash,then give a try, others can try at their on risk.