- -- Release information ----------------------------------------------- -- -
Artist : Defaced
Album : Forging the Sanctuary
Genre : Death Metal
Year : 2015
Label : Rising Nemesis Records
Cat# : N/A
Source : WEB/FLAC
Bitrate : avg. 292kbps
Size : 104,39 MB
Runtime : 49:50
URL : https://defacedswiss.bandcamp.com/album/forging-the-sanctuary
- -- Tracklist -------------------------------------------------------- -- -
01. Because I Despise 03:28
02. Antithesis 04:35
03. Rapture Through Bondage 04:03
04. Sower of Discord 04:08
05. And With it Rose Satan 04:36
06. I, The State, Am the People 04:33
07. Forging the Sanctuary 05:23
08. Venomous Eden 03:57
09. Humanity's Lost Hope 06:00
10. You Get What You Deserve 05:17
11. End of Torment 03:50
- -- Release notes ---------------------------------------------------- -- -
With an acquisition by Rising Nemesis Records out of Germany,
Switzerland's Defaced have managed to carve out a stronger
showing from themselves through their sophomore Forging the
Sanctuary. Stylistically, it would be a stretch to call this a
departure from the very average stockpile of inspiration its
predecessor On the Frontline was supplied from, but they've
fleshed out their individual riffing components enough that I
had a better time in listening, and they overall come across
as being a little more bloodthirsty, brutal, vicious, and
capable of leaving an impact wherever they launch their
artillery shells. We're not talking top flight death metal
here which is likely to gather a lot of momentum in the
heavily saturated scene in Europe where retro-death seems to
reign supreme, but it's an improvement, and that's the first
step towards anything...
Still a lot of standard blasting mechanics here, with an
interchange between growls and higher scraping rasps circa the
legends of Carcass, albeit with nowhere near as much carnal
character (not even as much as Deicide, who would spit them
out in conjunction to create their signature sound). One new
thing I noticed was that in a tune like "Sower of Discord" or
"Antithesis", they've incorporated a slight black metal
approach with some of the dissonance chords they affix to the
blasting segments, and these even extend further into some of
the airier, atmospheric sequences (as in the same track). Note
for note, I felt that there was just a lot more variety to
what the band from the weirder pauses in the action that they
include in "Rapture Through Bondage" and "Forging the
Sanctuary" itself. The leads are far better designed than On
the Frontline, to the point that some of them are even
compelling, and the other melodic touches offer a little
balance to the robust butchery they tend towards.
The death/thrash breakdowns are more explosive and exciting,
and though the production of the guitars isn't much different
than the first album, it just feels more incendiary and
razor-sharp, capable of bleeding more from the listener's
attention span. I also have to give props for the Dan Seagrave
cover artwork, a good choice and a striking image that is one
of the better he has created in years, with that elongated
papal figure on its throne of gold and wretchedness. Granted,
like so many death metal albums, the image is evocative and
exotic and then the music is far less inventive or capable of
manifesting aural escapism with the audience, but then Defaced
doesn't really have the convenience of doing 'a new thing'
like a lot of the bands were doing in the late 80s or 90s. As
it stands, though, Forging the Sanctuary is superior to its
predecessor in categories, and marks a young band making its
ascent...how far is anyone's guess, but if they can continue
to extricate more interesting melodies or atmospheric breaks
from the banal punishment of their roots, they'll be on to
something.
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