The Defaced
“Karma in Black”
(Nuclear Blast)
“Karma in Black”? Oh, for fuck’s sake, give me a fucking break. What is that? The title of some Middle School goth girls book of poetry? The album title does not fit the music. The music has a Pantera/Exhorder kind of vibe to it with an angry guy screaming, but the songs are often interrupted by gang vocals or harmonies if you’re kind. They’re from Sweden but bare none of the Swedish sound.
They are rooted in that hard thrash sound that Pantera allegedly picked up from the late ’80s New Orleans metal scene. So, the Defaced are firmly rooted in the bayou sound of the late eighties/early nineties. Should you care? It’s a small world, right? If you like pumping both of your fists as you listen to your metal then the Defaced’s metal is the metal for your metal needs metalhead. Their down and dirty heavy thrash can hold it’s own. The vocals are at times reminiscent of “Practice What You Preach” era Chuck Billy. Not the greatest Chuck Billy, but Chuck Billyish anyhow. Billyish?
