The Defiled, a hardcore metal bunch of guys from London, were formed in 2005 and released their first EP in 2009 titled ‘1888’ and shortly after, they released their first album “Grave Times’ which was given away free with Metal Hammer Magazine. In July 2011 they headlined the Jager state at Sonisphere, then in the same year they opened up on the main stage at Bloodstock Festival. They must have known they hit it big when earlier this year they got signed to legendary label Nuclear Blast.
So let’s give this album a whirl.
There’s an interesting steampunk styled intro to the first track ‘Sleeper,’ then the vocals pop in and surprise me. The girlie photos of the band do nothing for them as the music is quite aggressive and raw. However, the chorus to this track is little cheesy and possibly ruins the overall feel to it. ‘Spoken’ contains some splendid riffs then to the chorus again. Emo screams aside you can tell this band are a talented bunch. The riffs are outstanding and the vocals are quite original. If I could give the band any sort of advice it would be “come on lads, Lose the cheesy voice change in the chorus” it obviously purely attracts 14 year old girls..
‘Saints and Sinners’ is worth a listen, it even reminds me a little of the big fella Devin Townsend with the voice effects. I’m trying to ignore the chorus on this one due to the fact that without it, it would be quite a good song.
Some Marilyn Manson styled vocals and an industrial feel in ‘Porceline’ makes this my favourite. No sign of that girly stuff either! Although, the grufty riffs and then a quick end made me feel a little unsatisfied oh well moving on..
‘Fragments of Hope’ has a few tasty “fragments’ in it including the pinch harmonics, and the keyboards which show off a nice bit of tomfoolery. This track would have been perfect for a soundtrack like The Queen of the Damned; all dark and a little gothic.
‘Infected’ and ‘The Mourning After’ sound exactly the same as the first 3 tracks. With those awful vocals I was talking about earlier. What were they thinking?
A brooding ballad type track with ‘Five Minutes’ and to be honest a quite enjoyable one at that. Yes it’s those vocals again but with a slow and eerie track like this it just works!
Ending with ‘No Place like Home’ and personally I would have ended on ‘Five Minutes. However, not my band and instead they ended on a screamo number which fails to impress me and left me feeling a bit “oh well, that’s it then?!”
Overall, its ok I guess? A good idea all-round but let down by a flat performance and he potential is there but they’re not quite cutting the mustard!
Not my cup of JD but I’m sure all the little 14/15 year old lasses will love it!
(4/10 Charlene Rance)
Leave a Reply