It’s a pity that people, when hearing about North American Death Metal School of the 90s just think about MORBID ANGEL, DEICIDE, OBITUARY, DEATH, CANNIBAL CORPSE and other huge names of the genre. These are very good bands, but acts as MONSTROSITY, VITAL REMAINS, CYNIC, MASTER, MACABRE, HATE ETERNAL, NOCTURNUS, EXHUMED, IMMOLATION, SUFFOCATION, AUTOPSY, ATHEIST, PESSIMIST and others are as good as them, or even better (such thing depends on the personal musical taste of the fans, please). A tip: learn to be patient, to hear an album (and not just some seconds of a song) to create conceptions and ideas, so you can enjoy extreme music in a better way. And maybe “Defiance”, the later release of the New York Death Metal gang of HYPOXIA can help you in such homework.

Noah Buchanan did the mixing and the mastering, creating a sharp, brutal and impacting sonority that respects the models that were created back at Morrisound Studio in the 90s, but with modern updates to set things in a very good shape. All those words are here to explain say that it’s nasty and aggressive, but in a way anyone can understand what’s being expressed. And the artwork of Mike Hrubovcak (layout) and Daemorph (cover art) is truly great, fitting on what a Death Metal band must show. The quartet (in reality, they’re a quintet, but the recordings were done only with one guitarist, maybe Ryan Moll joined after the album was recorded) works on a form of music that can be described as 80% Death Metal (due the solid brutality and aggressiveness of their music) with 20% of Thrash Metal (due the technical care on some instrumental arrangements). They can be said as traditional Death/Thrash Metal band, but that isn’t living off the past and doing things on their own way. It’s brutal and nasty, yet technical and full of energy.

“Bleed for Blasphemy” and “Pathway to Charon” (two technical songs with thunderous instrumental parts supporting the growls and scream of the vocals, and they’re full of extreme hooks, with the second one using very good slow parts), “Correlated Embolism” (a more 50%-50% balance between Death Metal and Thrash Metal influences are heard on this one, with fine technical parts of bass guitar and drums), “Agonized Asphyxia” (some guitar riffs on this one depicts their Death/Thrash Metal ways), “Too Far Gone” (brutal blast beats appear, and what good technical appeal), and “Scorched and Skinned” are the fine ones for a first ride on this Death/Thrash Metal playground, but fasten your seatbelts tight!

“Defiance” is a very good release, and depicts how HYPOXIA can grow and become a strong name in the Death Metal scene in the near future.