{"id":94419,"date":"2022-07-18T00:00:58","date_gmt":"2022-07-17T23:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=94419"},"modified":"2022-07-20T18:27:56","modified_gmt":"2022-07-20T17:27:56","slug":"album-review-critical-defiance-no-life-forms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-critical-defiance-no-life-forms\/","title":{"rendered":"CRITICAL DEFIANCE – No Life Forms (2022) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

CRITICAL DEFIANCE
No Life Forms<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nUnspeakable Axe (2022)<\/span>
Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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No Life Forms<\/em> is the second full-length release from Chilean thrash act Critical Defiance, and like many albums it\u2019s a long-awaited post-pandemic outing \u2013 although it\u2019s one I have a few issues with, mostly in the vocal department.<\/p>\n

South America is usually a continent that\u2019s bang on the money when it comes to really organic and authentic-sounding extreme metal, and while the sound of Critical Defiance is one that is reliant on pace and wild solos, the vocals just seem to a bit too erratic in their aggression. It\u2019s not a major flaw because there is so much more to savour here, like the incredible lead work of Felipe Alvarado and Javier Salgado and the riveting drums of Rodrigo Poblete, but it is Alvarado\u2019s vocals rants which cause a slight niggle.<\/p>\n

Even so, this is violent thrash metal with death metal connotations as from the off the likes of \u2018A World Crumbling Apart\u2019 and \u2018The Last Crusaders\u2026 Bringers Of Death!\u2019 straddle that fine line between aggressive thrash and death metal; imagine a mix of Dark Angel with classic Sepultura and the likes and it remains unrelenting.<\/p>\n

\u2018Dying Breath\u2019 stands out with its torrential hammering and tides of chaotic riffage, while \u2018Elephant\u2019 has a swirling tech-thrash groove as it throws out interesting angles amidst its speed, and that\u2019s where the bass really comes into its own.<\/p>\n

I think because the music is so involving it\u2019s quite easy to forget the vocal issues, or maybe I was just opting for a more dehydrated Sadus-esque vocal snap instead of those muscular barks. Even so, there\u2019s no denying the savagery of this album, even at its more melodious.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, \u2018Altering The Senses\u2019 showcases the variety within the thrashy framework the band has constructed, \u2018Warhead (Emotional Fallout)\u2019 is a ravenous old school death \/ thrash juggernaut, and the title track begins with a slow chug before taking on a thorny spin.<\/p>\n

At times, the ferocity of this opus is overwhelming and the flashes of technicality are to be admired to the point that I\u2019d be more willing to listen to this bereft of any vocals. But as it stands, No Life Forms<\/em> is still a vigorous thrash assault doused in crossover nuances and brimming with anger and an almost punky edge. If you like the heated vocal chants then you\u2019ll love it even more.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CRITICAL DEFIANCENo Life Forms Unspeakable Axe (2022)Rating: 8\/10 No Life Forms is the second full-length release from Chilean thrash act Critical Defiance, and like many albums it\u2019s a long-awaited post-pandemic outing \u2013 although it\u2019s one I have a few issues with, mostly in the vocal department. South America is usually a continent that\u2019s bang on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,4894],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-critical-defiance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94419"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94422,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94419\/revisions\/94422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}