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Defender: Dying To Live
Defender - Dying To Live Album Art

Defender: Dying To Live

Traditional Heavy/Speed Metal
4.0/5.0

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Metalapolis Records
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 17.03.2025 | Released: 21.03.2025

Founded in 2016 in Balingen, Germany, Defender is a traditional metal band riding the crest of the New Wave Of Heavy Metal (NWoTHM) in Europe. They dropped a five song debut EP, Rising High in 2018, which was followed in 2019 by the single Beyond Darkness. Last year Defender released another single, Bang Your Head Again, an ode to the much loved German metal festival, held in their hometown, which was discontinued in 2023. Additionally, over these last years, Defender has shared stages with Ross The Boss, Night Demon, Stormwitch, to mention only a few.

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Defender

Now, Defender arrives with their first long-player, Dying To Live, currently signed to Germany Metalapolis Records. Citing old school influences from kindred spirits and peers Running Wild to Helloween, the quartet lives by their self-described motto, "Live heavy metal to the fullest, heavy metal is the life we choose". They definitely have the look and leather to be metal.


While traditional heavy metal is the encompassing genre, their version delves more into twin-guitar driven speed metal. Which means, essentially, that with little variation, every song is simply fast and heavy. It's a horse race from the gate with the gallop and groove speed metal, wherein the razor sharp twin riffage and romping rhythm section lead equally fast and furious guitar solos.

This is accomplished and apparent with songs such as Survivor, Restless Power, Dying To Live, and Serenade To Live, which is largely an instrumental arrangement. However, this repetitive metal motif also reveals Defender's inherent redundancy in their music. Nevertheless, there is and exception to all this speed in the mild and slow grooving metal anthem, Neverland.

All said, for a modern interpretation of traditional heavy metal, in a twin-guitar driven speed metal wrapper, Defender's Dying To Live is spot on and keeps this venerable genre relevant for a new generation. Recommended.



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The Take Away

For a modern interpretation of traditional heavy metal, in a twin-guitar driven speed metal wrapper, Defender's Dying To Live is spot on and keeps this venerable genre relevant for a new generation. Recommended.

Support the artist, click the link below to buy the album at Amazon (US site) in your favorite format.

Purchase Defender - Dying To Live at Amazon
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