Having toured the country with the likes of Napalm Death and Raging Speedhorn, and with current single Stitch receiving heavy rotation on Kerrang! TV, Kettering's Defenstration are already making waves in the metal world. Combining the heaviness of the aforementioned Speedhorn with a melodic edge which would grip even the most ardent Linkin Park fan, Defenestration offer a lighter side to heaviness.
Like a were-bear, vocalist Gen Tasker has the ability to turn from cute and fluffy to shit-your-pants scary in the blink of an eye. She can growl with the best of them (and does, with both Napalm Death's Barney Greenway and Raging Speedhorn's John Loughlin guesting on the album), but she also pulls off angelic with ease.
And Gen's vocals have a suitable backing. The guitars fall somewhere between Sabbath and Slayer, happy to take a back seat when necessary, but also capable of driving the songs. The instrumental Intro (curiously placed halfway through the album) is a triumph of Iommi-esque riffing and a stuttering bass drum, building into an incessant groove in a little over two minutes. It would have been nice to have it segue into the next song, Sabbath-style, but you can't have everything.
While One Inch God doesn't quite capture the quintet's awesome live energy, songs like Thrill of the Chase and Glory are brimming with youthful rage, while In* and *Too Hopeful showcase the tuneful side of vitriol, the subdued guitars and angelic vocals hiding something greater. Single Stitch could be the band's manifesto, cramming seductive melody and ferocious animosity into the space of three minutes, and punctuating it with an attention-grabbing riff.
One Inch God is aching to be a classic metal album for the 21st century. While it's not quite there yet, there's little doubt that Defenestration are on their way to greater things. This is only the start.
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8Nick Lancaster.'s Score