Third album for Nightbearer.
After almost three years, Dominik Hellmuth (guitar, Burden of Grief, Despised, ex-Hate Force One), Michael Torka (vocals, Despised), Florian Böhmfeld (bass, ex-Hate Force One), Manuel Lüke (drums, Burden of Grief, ex-Hate Force One) and their new guitarist Tristan Schubert return to present Defiance, with the help of Testimony Records.
With the mellowness of opener Dust, it’s hard to believe that we’re about to listen to Death Metal, but His Dark Materials quickly puts us back on the path to violence with solid riffs and vindictive howls. A few melodies come to haunt certain passages to give them an epic touch, then it’s with Defiance, the eponymous track, that we become most aware of the German band’s Swedish scene influences. Harmonics and keyboards find their way to make the rhythmic epic, as on the majestic One Church over All, which prefers slow, imposing riffs but still features a ferocious double kick, making the composition very cold. The approach becomes wilder again on Dying Knows No Bounds, but the mysterious leads remain to haunt the choruses between two waves of fury, tinting the track with a certain melancholy, as does Reign Supreme which follows and borrows its moody aura from Doom/Death. The calm doesn’t last, quickly broken by a visceral acceleration, but returns to tint certain passages with its soaring tones before a particularly heavy final, then Under the Sun of War unveils its dissonance, which it transforms into grandiose moments. The intense final passage leads us into the moment of respite offered by the very long Ascension whose introduction darkens before finally being consumed by heavy Black/Death roots, adopting brighter moments that create a significant contrast, as in the soothing central break, which will also eventually be corrupted. Rage is expressed for a while, but it’s finally in tranquility that we join Until We Meet Again, which speeds off again, offering us a ferocious but also very melodic instrumental before handing over to Republic of Heaven, which closes the album with its usual violence but also its imposing orchestrations that respond to the abrasive leads.
Although highly influenced by the Swedish scene, Nightbearer gives Defiance its own interesting diversity between violence and melody. I’m sure the album will soon find its audience.
90/100
