I like the beats and I like the yelling, 9th October 26

Critical Defiance: Rivers of BloodOut 25th September on Dying Victims Productions 2024 was the year Critical Defiance suddenly caught the attention of a broader international audience with ‘The Search Won’t Fall…’, a finely crafted treat of frenetic thrash fair alongside some well integrated oddball moments. The Chilean death and thrash metal scene has pulled well ahead of the pack in the last ten years, and with this latest release, Critical Defiance cement their place at the head of the assault. They may be less adventurous than their progressive peers Demoniac (who also have a new album on the books), but here they assert themselves as the reliable choice for quality riffing coloured with a progressive, eclectic hue. In just barely half an hour Critical Defiance manage to cover all bases, delivering urgent thrash runs defined by raw physicalism as much as technical flair, alongside delicate acoustic guitar vignettes and a progressive cosmopolitism, injecting quotations and…