Defiant Imagination

A lot better than their fellow countrymen Cryptopsy, and I'm sure that will be debated by many. There hasn't been a disappointing release yet, in my opinion, from the French Canadian Death Metallers known as Quo Vadis. From their debut LP "Forever..." I was completely blown away by these guys. The reason being is, well, I don't particuarly enjoy the "tr00" death metal sound. But Quo Vadis is something special, they have amazing technique, style, professionalism and most importantly an original sound. I will admitt, I was a bit nervous about how this LP would turn out seeing as how the past vocalist split on the band weeks before recording "Defiant Imagination", but the very moment I heard that deep, visceral growl in the opening track.....I kid you not, chills ran down the center of my spine. So at least my vocal worries were over, now lets move to the guitars. I'm not a particular fan of the proverbial "instrumental wankery" as it is often refered to i.e. Children Of Bodom, Dream Theatre etc, but quo vadis has increible riffs and a near orgasmic drive behind their solo's. They don't just solo for the sake of being one of those "hey, look what i can do!!!!" kind of bands, they have tremendous feeling and emotion behind nearly every guitar composition. I don't know much about bass playing in general (aside from the great Les Claypool, yes I KNOW he isn't "Metal" but hes damn good") but the man holds his own on this record giving a nice beefy death metal sound to compliment the guitars. And now, for my FAVOURITE part of this band......THE DRUMMING!!!! Holy titty fucking christ, the drumming!!!! Yanic Bercier has to be one of THE most accomplished drummers in metal today. The man plays lightning quick, and its not just simple routine blast beats. He changes it up constantly, and has a double bass kick that could set off a pacemaker of someone standing near by. I love this band and I love their music. They have enabled me to listen to a lot more heavier acts, although its tough to get heavier than these guys. My suggestion, check out their prior work if you are not familiar with them. And then and only then, throw on Defiant Imagination and get ready for the fucking ride of your life!