Though Sweden’s thrash revival seldom gets the same recognition (or disparagement) as its young American counterpart, bands like Defiatory serve as a potent reminder that Eastern Fennoscandia’s circle pit contingent remains potent.
A relatively new outfit, Defiatory formed in 2015. Their upcoming LP, Hades Rising is only their second release. No demos, EPs, or splits. Their discography is as straightforward as their sound. Vocalist Martin Runnzell bellows out the one howling note, but he hit the mark every time. Guitarist Ronnie Björnström, formerly on Aeon unfurls chug-then-flourish riffs with abandon, as “Metatron”, streaming below, demonstrates. The plus side of straightforwardness is reliability, and Defiatory sure is that. Each song on Hades Rising could be a single — the whole album makes me want to headbang.
The Swedish thrash revival never shared the retro-fetishism that characterized the US thrash revival. Witchery and The Haunted never embodied the hi-tops and pizza aesthetic or the drink-till-you-drop lyrics of, say, Municipal Waste. Because those bands came to the fore around the same time as melodic death metal’s heyday, they draw more from that style than from crossover, and Defiatory is much the same. They sound slick and to-the-point and have no qualms about writing songs that push the five-minute mark. Good. the trouble with blink-and-you’ll-miss-it songwriting is, well, every so often you have to blink, and bands like Defiatory aren’t to be missed.
Hades Rising is out on May 11 via Black Lion Records. Pre-order it here. Follow Defiatory on Facebook here.
