Halloween was a great day for metal releases this year, with two I reviewed already in contention for my annual top 20. This album will be the third from that release day, and it is in similar company. Danish progressive metal band Defecto released their new album, “Echoes of Isolation,” on Halloween, and it is phenomenal. It is super technical, guitar forward progressive metal, with chunky riffing, big soaring choruses, good light use of extreme vocals, and incredible guitar leads and solos. Vocalist Nicklas Sonne has a very dynamic versatile voice, with a broad clean range and great extreme vocals. I saw him this past September at ProgPower with his other project, Aries Descendent, and he was so impressive live, effortlessly gliding up to super high notes and navigating the full range while also having no issues with the occasional growls. The same is on display here. I love how emotive his vocals, and his pointed delivery fits the feel of the music well. The guitar work is fabulous on this album, with intense guitar leads being a first class citizen in the musical fabric. Ironically at times it reminds me of Aephanemer, not in the classical/baroque sense, but more in the musical theory aspect. The “proper” guitar solos just feel like a natural extension to the pervasive leads, making each song flow while keeping the technical juices constantly going. And let’s not forget the amazing drumming and basswork which provide a solid foundation and add the necessary heft. The use of synths gives the songs a cinematic feel without going overboard, and the occasional thrashy / metalcore-ish throwdown sections break things up nicely while also adding a heavier flavor. I don’t always like comparing bands, but when asked I have described this as a collision of Sunburst and Evergrey, with maybe some of the sensibility Pyramaze brings to the table, but at a faster pace and with the added extreme elements.

The album opens with the cinematic instrumental “The Unraveling,” the second half of which introduces you to the driving guitar melody in the first full song. “Eternal Descent” kicks off with a killer guitar lead that continues over speedy drums, trades off a couple times with the verse, and delivers a poignant chorus followed by a brief guitar solo. The middle section serves as a transition, reprising the main guitar lead over chunky riffing and drumming before giving you a nice guitar solo, and then builds to finish things out. “Sacred Alignment” is easily one of my favorite tracks on the album. It features a driving darker edged lead as the primary melody, giving the song a powerful heavy feel. The chorus is anthemic and quite the earworm, one I find impossible not to sing to. After the second chorus, Nicklas treats you to a nice growl over a driving groove, which leads to one of my favorite guitar solos on the album, a two-parter with a rhythmic part followed by a more traditional feel that also reprises the main melody. It is an intelligent song that really never lets off the gas and perfectly melds melody and heft.

“Eclipsed by the Void” starts off with a killer guitar lead settling into a chunky thrashy groove before opening up with symphonics for the verse. The chorus is big and powerful and reminds me some of more recent Pyramaze. I love the dynamic contrast and use of piano to offset the chuggier riffing, and there is lots of juicy guitar lead to get excited about. “Heart on Fire” is the most straightforward song on the album, carrying more of a power metal feel without the guitar lead forward approach that dominates Defecto’s sound. It also features guest vocals from Danish singer Stig Rossen. It would definitely be a crowd sing-along live. “Quantum Abyss” has a very baroque-like piano opening that gives it a haunting feel which is mirrored by the guitar throughout. The song is fast-paced and driving and takes a gruffer approach, including a stellar throwdown midway that breaks things up nicely before getting into a nice guitar solo and a big ending, including one of the highest notes from Nicklas on the album.

“Though Cloak and Bones” hits hard with an almost throwback thrash groove, featuring sharper cleans and gruff extremes and plenty of fretboard gymnastics for what is probably the heaviest track on the album. I love the dichotomy between the verses (with cleans) and the in your face thrashy chorus. “Shattered Reality” is full of infectious earworm melodies with one of my favorite driving guitar leads, having a pop sensibility amidst its power prog dynamics. The second half of the song shows the band exploring the prog soundscape a bit more, with nice dynamics and textures. It is a great track ahead of the title track, which serves not only as the closer but also as the longest song on the album by nearly double. It is a great showcase for what Defecto can do when they truly let loose and go full on prog. Sonne displays a tenderness in his early vocals, with grand emotion in the big chorus. The song takes its time building, with delicate guitars and synths creating a nice atmosphere, allowing Sonne’s voice to take center stage. Just shy of the 4 minutes mark, the song takes a turn, embracing a darker heavier groove and picking up the pace. The vocals are a mix of gruff growls and majestic soaring cleans, matching the growing dynamics of the track. It then enters open prog territory, treating your ears to a technical feast of guitar, drums, and rhythmic prowess, with myriad textures and plenty of depth. The song returns to reprise the chorus in majestic fashion, then ends with atmospheric synths and a fabulous extended guitar solo before fading out with a somber piano outro.

I love it when Defecto is fast and technical as they are for the majority of this album, but they also excel when writing something bigger and more epic. In fact, I would actually love to see more balance and see a few more examples of the title track to go along with songs like “Sacred Alignment.” Needless to say, this is a spectacular prog metal album that delivers plenty of technicality and melody, and you should definitely check it out!

Original Instagram review Part 1
Original Instagram review Part 2
Original Instagram review Part 3