Review by Greg on December 28, 2023.

While Deficiency's long-awaited third output, The Dawn of Consciousness, is going to be spread all around the world, and I prepare myself either to witness the complete rise of the 'next French big thing', or to be disappointed by a subpar release, a little contextualization would help those unfamiliar with this promising thrash band. Here it is, their second album The Prodigal Child marks a step forward from the already ambitious debut, offering a solid, yet not flawless, ensemble of thrash metal songs with various influences.

To deter some of you from listening, here's my warning: metalcore is one of these. If you can't stand anything related to this genre, probably you will dismiss this and consider it a 'fake modern thrash' album or whatever. I have to admit that the vocals are the main conjunction ring between the two worlds: there are a lot of sung passages, with Laurent Gisonna's voice reminiscent of a much less nasal and rougher M Shadows at times, alternated with screams/growls which wouldn't be out of place on an early Trivium album. If, for some reason, you're still reading, congratulations!, you may have found something worth your time.

Yes, if you can get past these particular vocals and the sporadic breakdowns, the rest is pure metal fury, not confining itself within the boundaries of thrash metal, rather highlighting the true strength of Deficiency: the guitars, held by Jérôme Meichelbeck and Gisonna himself. The riffs oscillate continuously between the simplest of -core chugs and the more intricate, heavy metal infused leads, while the solos really shine on some songs ('Unfinished' and 'Those Who Behold' instantly come to mind). In any case, the rest of the band is not below the axemen, as bassist Vianney Habert can still be heard under them (and sometimes it's a pleasure), and drummer Anthony Thomas brings some nice tempo changes, offering also solid double bass to enforce the heavier moments. Certainly his decision to leave the band was an important loss, but I'm quite confident they found a worthy replacement in Thomas Das Neves.

Speaking about the songs on here, some of them are really memorable: first of all, there's the aforementioned 'Unfinished', which had also a considerable success on YouTube (over 100k views). It's where every good thing said about the band contributes to create a fantastic hit, probably the first choice for an eventual single. Other catchy choruses can be found in the great title-track or 'The Introspection of the Omnipotent', whereas 'Stronger than You' contains a surprising piano/orchestral break in the middle, leading to an awesome instrumental section with the bass in evidence, all this after hitting you like a train in the first part. Definitely one of the most interesting and complex songs on here (somehow compensating its chorus, not as effective as others), nearly on par with the kaleidoscopic closer 'The Curse of Hu's Hands'.

Oh, the eighth track is again an instrumental, and a nice one: 'A Way Out of Nowhere' contains two of the best solos on 'The Prodigal Child', before a brief central acceleration breaks slightly the pace of the song. It's 7 and a half minutes long, but it really doesn't feel like it, and this is quite a compliment to make. With all this being said, there may be some songs which don't convince too much, or better, the impression is that a whole hour is a bit excessive length for an album like this, despite the band's beliefs, and a handful of songs could be trimmed as they last for an average of 6 minutes each. Nevertheless it's a captivating effort by a growing band which is ready to face its graduation exam. Recommended to everyone who wants to hear talented musicians, or another French metal band outside of Gojira.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10