Defiler - Nematocera
Record Label: Razor & Tie
Release Date: October 9th, 2012
"I wanna see you cry, bitch!" For most of us, that was the introduction to the California four-piece lifecore band, Defiler. The band (who recently signed to Razor & Tie) is led by 19 year old front man Jake Pelzl and is rounded out by Ethan Lewis (guitar), Ian Poole (drums) and Jesse Dhaliwal (bass). From the first track "Lucky 38", it’s easy to see that Jake’s vocals have vastly improved from their debut record Pangaea. The musicianship has gotten better this time around as well; less chugging and more melody. Sure, there’s a breakdown here and there but they’re not as prevalent as they were on Pangaea.The inclusion of clean vocals (mostly as backup singing) are nice touch and stand out on a few tracks such as "Movin’ On Up The Nation’s Chain", and "Nuclear Anomaly".
It’s worth noting the band self-produced the record with mixing duties handled by Chris “Zeuss” Harris (Suicide Silence, Chelsea Grin, The Acacia Strain); definitely a step up from the production on Pangaea. A few of the more prominent tracks on the record would be the crushing song, “Octobortion” (featuring Frankie Palmeri of Emmure) and “Walk In The Glow” (the single to which they’re making a video for). Jake describes the latter as “…heavy, pummeling verses with the melancholy, harmonized leads under it - the technical bridge with crazy guitar patterns - and the melodic choruses.” All in all, this is a great record for fans of the deathcore genre. If you want something heavy to listen to while throw down with your bros, this is the record for you.
8.5/10
- Jordan
