CD ArtWork - Defiant (2014)[1]NWOBHM underdogs Soldier released a storming album called ‘Dogs of War’ a couple of years back, ‘Defiant’ is a brand new release that does more than rest on past glories and musical styles. Whilst still a very British metal album, ‘Defiant’ has more to it, more musical experimentation and more in-depth lyrical content, this is a perfect album title when you think about it.

Opener ‘Conquistador’ has a touch of prog inspiration, like relatively recent Maiden material, Soldier convert such influence to produce a song that’s quite expansive with light and shade included that makes you feel more inclusive to the extended duration track and keeps you interested. ‘Concrete Wilderness’ lyrically comments on the social state of bright lights, big cities and the feelings felt by many inhabitants living in isolation amongst a large population, which is my interpretation anyway and adds more dimension to the music, that again has a more rounded solid hard rock approach. ‘Dead Man Curve’ gets back to really rocking hard and will be a track I am sure included in their live set, it’s made for such an outing, as if it is written to be crowd inclusive. Then if you flip to the start of ‘Six Hundred’, this has a sort of phased delay at the very start that reminds me of Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’ intro, before Soldier kick it into a life of their own producing another solid hard rocker.

Richard Frost’s vocals convey a lot of emotion possessing such a strong vibrato, not so much a higher octave range, but certainly compelling enough to compare to some of the most redeeming British singers on past and recent times.  The album itself, is mixed well, I still personally prefer a little dirtier sound if I go to the production itself, but that wouldn’t work with these arrangements when you sit back and evaluate the context of the full release as it would lose the warmth. ‘Bullet Belt Blues’ lyrically throws in a curveball and comments on the relationship between war and oil over the past few years, I was half expecting something else, but that’s what I like about this release it offers more than your typical album.

This is a ‘defiant’ album, it doesn’t rely on NWOBHM heritage and has its own individual character from a band unafraid to expand their musical boundaries. Soldier buck recent trends and have the confidence to develop as each release is written. ‘Defiant’ makes “Made in Britain” have a real meaning once again!

(8/10 Paul Maddison)

http://soldiernwobhm.com