Defiance were one of the many second tiered Bay Area thrash bands to come out in the late 1980's, Void Terra Firma being their second release, originally out in 1990 on Roadrunner Records and now remastered and reissued by Metal Mind Productions. Though Void Terra Firma is pretty solid from start to finish, it's hard see this band as anything more than a Testament/Forbidden/Exodus wannabe, as many of the riffs, rhythms, and vocal passages sound all too familiar, as if they were trying too hard to emulate the bands that emerged from the scene before them. Steev Esquivel's vocals are so similar to Chuck Billy from Testament at times that you would almost swear it's Chuck in disguise. That being said, if you're not overly familiar with some of those other bands but have a passing interest in 80's thrash, you might really enjoy Void Terra Firma. That being said, there are some solid metal tunes here, like the busy, riff-driven "Deception of Faith", the crunchy grooves of "Questions", the manic "Skitz-Illiusions", and the fun cover of Iron Maiden's "Killers".
Though Metal Mind remastered this one, there's still a thinness to the mix that remains from the original master, the guitars needing some extra 'oomph' and the drums sounding a tad tinny. Also, there's no essay on the band with this one, something that you usually get with all these Metal Mind reissues, but the booklet does come complete with lyrics, live photos, and plenty of live & demo bonus tracks.
Track Listing
1. Void Terra Firma
2. Deception of Faith
3. Questions
4. Skitz-Illiusions
5. Slayground
6. Killers
7. Steamroller
8. Checkmate
9. Buried or Burned
10. Last Resort (Welcome to Poverty)
Bonus Tracks
11. Violent Remedy (Void)
12. Skitz-Illusions
13. Checkmate
14. Deception of Faith
15. Checkmate
16. Drum Solo Lockjaw
17. The Fault
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