Review by Tomek on January 30, 2014.

I’ve been spending some time on the net lately doing research, and this band from Switzerland pops up. I knew the name but spelling seemed different so I decided to check it out. The Defaced is from Sweden and these guys are Defaced and they’re from the land of Milka. I had to dig deeper. Founded in 2006 under different moniker, changed the name, had some lineup changes, put out two demos and released album called On The Frontline in 2012. Sounds pretty ordinary but I was too far to stop, I had to listen.

The first few listening sessions revealed two things for certain. Those guys don’t mess around and they play death metal of the brutal kind. But it wasn’t just that. There was something else lurking under the surface and it wanted to show its ugly face to me. While listening to it more and more I found out that the death metal they were churning out wasn’t just a brutal pummeling, but it was also packed with catchy melodies (in a good death metal sense of the word), intricate details woven into the rhythm grabbed attention sporadically to spice up the songs, album had a stack of slow moments that were inviting for some crazed headbanging and let’s not forget the groove that those guys presented often.

Drumming was one of the highlights of the album and I couldn’t find any weak spots, it was solid throughout the whole length and very diverse. I think that if I didn’t like the music I would probably listen to the whole thing just for drums. Some good stuff to be found here. Vocals are also very entertaining part of the whole. We have some differentiating types here and plenty to chose from, so I’m only gonna say this: a little too much screaming (which sometimes gets a little overwhelming) and not enough growl, but overall very well done I’d say. If I had to pick my favorite song, it would be “Day After” which has a kick ass riff throughout the song and a melody that I cannot get out of my head, second one would be “Gore House” with Hellraiser’s Pinhead voice introducing and finishing the song. Song itself once again has a kick ass riff and good melody throughout but it’s the crushing beginning of it that I wish I could see those guys play a live show. It must be a mayhem happening in front of the stage. Plenty of moments like that packed in this album but those two songs did it for me 100%.

As I mentioned at the beginning I found those guys on the internet while doing some research. It so happens that I visited their page while writing and Defaced are in the studio recording. High Quality Death Metal is being made at the moment and I cannot stop myself from saying: Defaced Fuck Yeah!!! Sometimes checking out random bands pays off and Defaced are perfect example. If you reading this and don’t know Defaced it would be a good time to visit their page. Check’em out!!

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 9
Originality: 7.5
Overall: 8

Rating: 8.1 out of 10