Defiance "Void Terra Firma" CD

Defiance's sophomore effort "Void Terra Firma" released just a year after their debut "Product Of Society". The band replaced their vocalist Ken Elkington with new frontman Steev Esquivel. The band were slightly less focused here in my opinion, but this is a strong follow up. Let's see what this album has to offer...
The record begins strong with the highlight title track. The riffs courtesy of Doug Harrington and Jim Adams are highly technical, much like the riffs on the debut. The guitar tone is MUCH crunchier than the tone on the debut, and the solos are very good. You can hear Mike Kaufmann's bass on the title track for a brief moment, and it sounds fucking awesome! Drummer Matt Vander Ende is awesome, much like he was on the debut. His drumming is on point, and his kick drum is highly audible. This is how drum production on a thrash record should sound! Now there is one new member who made his debut performance here, and that is vocalist Steev Esquivel. Steev sounds very similar if not EXACTLY the same as Testament vocalist Chuck Billy. I wouldn't label Steev as a coycat however, because his vocals do have some distinctive character to them. Steev has a more aggressive sound, as compared to Ken. Steev is a good replacement in my opinion. He does well on this record.
"Questions" is a awesome track. The intro sounds cool, and the riffs are highly technical. The drum work is sick. and Steev's vocals work! This is a pretty kickass track, moving on... "Slayground" is a badass track. The riff is killer, and the lyrics are pretty well written...
"Born full of innocence, right from day one
Infancy our future, from violence they run
Caused by sickness that diseases this world
Into the open where it must be hurled
You know what I'm saying?"
The cover of the Iron Maiden classic "Killers" is pretty cool. It doesn't hold a candle to the original, but it is certainly a good cover. "Last Resort (Welcome To Poverty)" is an awesome closing track. The riffs are well written, the vocals are good, and the little neoclassical guitar work near the very end sounds amazing! This is one of the other tracks from the record I highly recommend!
So overall, I still prefer "Product Of Society" over this. It doesn't mean this is bad though because this record is killer. I feel like the songs on their debut were slightly better and more well written. This is a classic technical thrash record though and I highly recommend you check it out if you haven't already. I recommend this to fans of Testament, Annihilator, Blind Illusion, Deathrow, and Apocalypse.

Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...