DEFY – Dissecting The Leech

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7.0

• Bands:
  WRECK-DEFY
• Duration: 00:49:58
• Available from: 02/20/2026
• Label:

• Massacre Records

Streaming not yet available

Group or super-group, this is the dilemma? The Hamlet-like doubt is not resolved simply by reading the biography of the band in question but rather by listening to their record production, perennially dotted with guests, collaborations and participations.
Having established Matt Hanchuck in the role of leader, guitarist and founder of the Canadian band, with ex Testament Greg Christian now a permanent member of the official line-up, over the years musicians of the caliber of Doug Percy (ex Heathen), Geoff Thorpe of Vicious Rumors, Aaron Randall (ex Annihilator), Alex Marquez of Solstice and a certain Chris Poland, fundamental player of Megadeth on the occasion of the eternal “Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good!” and “So Far, So Good… So What!”.
And it is precisely for this reason that it is complicated to limit the name of Wreck-Defy within a well-defined genre: that the foundations are cemented in thrash metal is quite clear, however the contribution made by each of the protagonists mentioned above has ensured that each album released has more than one distinctive element.

And if the latest “Hybridized”, released last year, shone with electric and technical dynamism from the first to the last minute, with Chris Poland himself taking on the role of a special guest present in practically every song, the new “Dissecting The Leech” brings with it a consistent rate of groove to bring more than one song on the southern metal side, so as to create a dizzying cross between Pantera and Overkill.
Ten pieces that shine with their own light, built around the guest on duty, in support of vocalist Greg Wagner, charging the ball on the quickest occasions, making it accessible in the more rounded and full-bodied episodes. The merit of this singular sonic dichotomy must be sought once again in the names who contributed to the work of the basic quartet of Wreck Defy (Wagner, Hanchuck, Christian and O'Neal): among them the singer of Into Eternity, ex Iced Earth, Stu Block, Nikolay Atanasov of Agent Steel, Michael Gilbert of Flotsam And Jetsam and, once again, Chris Poland, protagonist in “Rivolt”.
The peculiar imprint of this southern and thrash mixture is immediately presented by the opener “Under the Sun”, so rapid and earth-shaking in the verses, equally enthralling and cadenced in the refrain, creating an interesting balance between rhythm and melody.
Overkill was mentioned a little while ago, and references to the New York band reach the ear both in the pounding “Do It Again” and in “The Haunting Past”, whose vibrant beginning sends us back to 2012 and the “21st Century Man” of “The Electric Age”, the sixteenth studio work by Bobby Blitz and his companions.
Then when the heaviness is put at the service of catchiness, “Millenial Dystopia” is ready for use, whose main riff helps the listener not to lose the key to the problem, and the title track itself, characterized by the intense work on the six strings of the Hanchuck-Gilbert duo.

To further spice up the mix of genres, thus causing a slight confusion of intent, the rocking “The Path” finally takes care of it, certifying “Dissecting The Leech” as an album that works, and here there are no doubts about the case, but which leaves behind a question mark as to what the 'true' face of the Canadian band is.
The idea and the consequent unconditional openness to the various hosted events led her not to follow a stable and linear artistic path: an acceptable choice but which, in fact, created some uncertainty in its final outcome.