The Defiant, Crysis’ second EP, has been long in the making. Having risen to prominence as one of the biggest bands in the Oxford metal scene, Crysis went on a brief hiatus for several months earlier this year, and their 15 December release show at the O2 marks their official return. As such, its only fitting that the opening riff to ‘Our Lazarus’, the first track, sounds like a bit of a challenge to the listener. ‘Our Lazarus’ isn’t a new song – it’s been a staple of Crysis’ explosive live set for some time, so it should feel pretty familiar to anyone who’s been following the band for a while. It kicks off with a riff strongly reminiscent of metalcore titans Killswitch Engage, with the brutal vocal stylings of Oxford’s ‘little man of metal’, Kial Churcher, dominating the mix. This package of metalcore is wrapped up by a tasteful guitar solo, with a mix of well-placed vibrato punctuated by slightly generic (but impressively tight) shredding. Not bothering to give the listener a moment to catch up, practically before the final chord of ‘Our Lazarus’ dies away, ‘Crossed’ kicks in, with a powerful riff that certainly maintains the momentum thrown roughly into place by the opening track. There’s nothing groundbreaking about either of these two tracks – they’re not adding a whole lot to the same metalcore sound that’s swept through metal since the turn of the century, but Crysis sure as hell know how to write a good metalcore song. The breakdowns are heavy, but not overly predictable, the riffs are strong, and the tightness of the band, coupled with excellent production, make it clear that a lot of care has been taken during the recording process to transmute the energy of Crysis’ gigs into The Defiant. This really doesn’t sound like a ‘local’ EP at all!

‘The Reckoning’ kicks in with a riff that leans slightly more in the direction of deathcore, complete with blast beats and crushing dissonance. Although the song is still definitely more melodic than the majority of deathcore, it’s clear that Crysis are pushing in a heavier direction here. Randy Blythe-style vocals help guide the vocal hooks straight to the pit of your stomach, and, when coupled with Shaun Linstead’s closing solo, it definitely guides this track under Lamb of God’s colossal wing of influence.

‘We Will Rise’, the closing track, has one of Crysis’ most memorable riffs yet, challenging even ‘Your Temptation’ in its catchiness. It’s very powerful, and also marks Crysis’ first experimentation with clean vocals, in the form of bassist Kyle Quinell’s melodic contribution to the chorus, giving the track an almost symphonic feel. It’s great to see a band who are already locally ‘established’ attempting to break their own formula and diversify a little.

With The Defiant, Crysis have produced a really professional-sounding EP, which shows their colossal promise as part of the local scene – they definitely aren’t throwing anything new into the metal subgenre ‘mixing pot’, but nonetheless, with a live show as powerful and engaging as theirs, supported by some solid recordings like these, Crysis have a lot of potential. If you’re a fan of modern metalcore, they’re well worth checking out!

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