It’s not very often that I get Chilean music to listen to, and it is even more rare that I get Thrash Metal from that region running through my ears, so to get the opportunity to review the CRITICAL DEFIANCE album, “Misconception”, is quite a treat for me. As this is my first encounter with the band and their music, I was looking for information. Unfortunately none was provided when I received the digital files for the album, so I have had to look up all I know through the internet. Thankfully the band has a name that is easily to identify, so it didn’t take too much time. It turns out that CRITICAL DEFIANCE is from the Villa Alemana (which I believe means German Town), Valparaíso area in Chile and they play fast and furious old school Thrash Metal with gusto. CRITICAL DEFIANCE was formed in 2010, so they took their time to gain enough experience and years of writing under their belt before putting out a full-length record.

“Misconception” was actually released in 2019 by UNSPEAKABLE AXE RECORDS, and for some reason or other they decided to rerelease it now. They have also made the album “No Life Forms”, which was let loose on the world in 2022. But, as it is, I am here to review “Misconception”, so I might as well get on with it. Like I mentioned, this is pure Thrash Metal, heavily steeped in the eighties in sound and experience. That in itself is not a problem, as long as the songs on offer are good. Well, here's another thing you don’t have to worry about.

You will certainly be taken back to the early days of bads like SLAYER, SEPULTURA, but also DARK ANGEL and ANTHRAX. CRITICAL DEFIANCE has the ability to transfer the feelings that reared their ugly (or is it beautiful?) heads at the time in question to the current day and age. and to maximise that effect, they even have made sure that the production emulates the sounds we as Metalheads encountered in those days. All together a very commendable effort. Especially when you realise that this is a debut album. As they say, you can only make a good first impression once, and I can only conclude that CRITICAL DEFIANCE has succeeded admirably with “Misconception”. So much in fact that I will now have to go looking for their sophomore album “No Life Forms”.