By bullet and blade the infamy of their terror-gang spreads across every alleyway and red room within reach as the territory commanded by Villa Alemana, Chile-borne thrash metal quintet CRITICAL DEFIANCE expands on this cyclonic fourth full-length album. Spurting like a garden hose then pooling in the middle ‘Rivers of Blood‘ might make its point quickly on this ~half hour gusher but not without style as their attack becomes more extreme, more elegantly strung and atmospherically gilded herein. As a finer point of evolution in their greater authorship this is as focused and tightly wound as these folks’ve been since their debut.

Critical Defiance formed as a trio by way of vocalist/guitarist Felipe Alvarado (Unholyness) circa 2010 and would bring in members of Mental Devastation, Demoniac and The Aggressor on the long walk toward their critically acclaimed debut LP (‘Misconception‘, 2019). That first record was a high watermark for thrash metal in general, embracing both European and Bay Area connections in a brilliant balance of the sub-genre’s bombast, technicality, and rhythmic violence. From that point the band’s line-up has shifted a number of times and in the process their vision grows increasingly frayed, feral in structure and expression. In review of their maze-minded, hurtling third LP (‘The Search Won’t Fall…‘, 2024) I’d suggested the band had retained the same voice in most respects but produced “[…] a very different result, not necessarily a step down but a step into a different portal.” while experimenting with some blackened riffs and such on an album that’d appeared to be reaching for the way forward.

Some of those points of fusion and quickly wrought ideas found on album number three now fuel the more concise, focused flamethrower blast that is ‘Rivers of Blood‘ today. The pairing of classical guitar introduction (“Red Omen”) with the scaling, sorta-blackened thrash attack of opener “Innate to Kill” definitely recalls a fleshier expansion beyond the half-formed ideas on pieces like “Full Paranoia” on the previous album, hitting vaguely like ‘Damned in Black‘ for a second here and there, catching my ear outright. Also of note for my taste is the low-set but still present bass guitar movement on the opener, a slightly virtuosic hit or two adding to the intensity the piece builds and releases. This attack, tension and attention to detail are upheld for the the majority of this ~31 minute record.

“The Feeling Destroyer” rallies in a similar way, breaking here and there for a solo and a huge riff around ~3:16 minutes into the piece which quickly evolves into a ranting salvo that’d highlighted Side A outright. Even just two minutes in the blur of aggression enacted at that point suggests Critical Defiance have purposefully writ an album experience, taut and unhinged as it may be, which veers from the “collection of songs” feeling their last couple of records have engaged. The song that closes the first half, title track “Rivers of Blood”, tempers their attack quite a bit and showcases a different side of the band which conjures atmospheric havoc amidst a mid-paced ominous tread through.

That chaotic sonic language is echoed slightly on the return for Side B though the new version of “Valparaíso” which kicks off here hits entirely different, almost sounding like a kick back to the band’s earlier days where punkish kicks, virtuosic breaks, and larger scale presentation roll through its ~eight minute assault. This is where Critical Defiance are at their best from my point of view but I’d appreciated the horror soundscapes and acoustic guitar parts inserted here which’d otherwise help to bond the full listen into some manner of cohesion. “Dead Tongues” and closer “Glorify War” otherwise return to ripping ensuring ‘Rivers of Blood‘ sets a great pooling scene at its midpoint but flares out into throat slashing mania otherwise.

Though the experience is brutally short and performed at a thousand-stabbed pace for most of its duration ‘Rivers of Blood‘ doesn’t hit like its 1986 so much as it exemplifies a form of modern adept-yet-raw throttled thrash metal Critical Defiance have been musing upon beyond their debut. I’d mark it as their best-yet take in this regard. The old ways prevail in spirit, of course, but the band’s evolution is exemplified here in a concise yet wrathful display highlighted by spikes of virtuosity, variety, and morbid atmosphere which defines their otherwise bristling accost. A high recommendation.

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