Bangkok’s Defying Decay released new album Synthetic Sympathy on March 27.
There’s an atmospheric, almost haunting start to the album with The Requiem: a Bipolar Nightmare. It combines haunting melodies with electronic synths for two minutes of instrumentation.
We get a first taste of Jay’s vocals on Built to Fall, the first full song of the album and they start with a mesmerising smooth melody, kicking into a more soaring sound as the track kicks the intensity up. It’s a good start to the album.
The Law 112: Secrets and Renegades is a more angsty track and has a good breakdown. The track focuses on corruption and lies. It has some good lyrics that stand up well today, which is no surprise as it focuses on Thailand’s controversial criminal code.
Kellin Quinn and Noth Getsunova feature on RX Genocide and their vocals work so well with Jay’s. The guitar solo in it is just *chef’s kiss*.
The lyrics for Debris are top class.
The album is a piece of metalcore heaven. It has soaring vocal melodies to die for, funky intense drums, slick basslines and punchy guitars.
Almost every track stands out, with the extremely catchy Pale and 21 Stitches to the beautiful Clouds which features pop star Violette Wautier.
The album has something for everyone, brutality, dance elements, soaring vocals. The only thing I think it’s missing is some real hard guttural screams, but it’s also a perfectly strong metalcore record without them, so that’s definitely just a personal preference.
If you’re looking for a band to listen to, I definitely recommend you check out Defying Decay!