City ad Mortis

Though generally overshadowed by the massive heavy metal scenes of Germany and Sweden, there was a respectable showing in the 80s by much of mainland Europe, and arguably the likeliest contender for a close third to said nations would be that of The Netherlands, despite much of the scene being populated by short-lived projects that would only manage a handful of demos or possibly a singular LP before fading back into the ether. One particular band that had all of the right elements to stand toe to toe with a number of prominent USPM and German speed metal outfits of the mid-80s that just didn't quite catch on was the North Holland-based quintet Defender, an outfit that is speculated to have originally gone by the moniker of Steelmaster during their first year in existence given a 2-song 1984 demo by the band featuring that name. Combining the high octane, almost borderline thrashing character of the German speed metal sound as exemplified in Iron Angel and Tyrant, alongside the somewhat more colorful and melodic swagger of the USPM sound of Metal Church and Liege Lord, they had carved up a fairly unique niche within the broader early power metal scene in Europe when the year 1987 saw the release of their CBS-backed debut EP City Ad Mortis.

Putting aside the fact that the album's name translates into "City to death", though the highly interpretive character of the Latin language could make this grammatically odd phrase imply a city on the verge of ruin or in a state of decay, this is musically among the more on point example of the raw, vital and high speed-infused offerings to come out of Europe in the mid to late 80s. Following a creepy prelude of blowing wind and a harmonized, otherworldly narration like an outtake from one of the Evil Dead movies, the opener and title anthem "City Ad Mortis" bursts in like a mighty hammer pulverizing an entire quarry. The riff work is generally of a gallop-happy, quasi-thrashing quality that blurs the lines between the melodic splendor of Iron Maiden and the gritty, crushing fair of early Anthrax and Metallica. Likewise, the album's shuffling closer "Counter Attack" could almost be mistaken for a shorter yet busier answer to "Four Horseman" were Simon Menting's shriek-happy extravagance switched out with more of a Bay Area-leaning gruff sound. Generally that is the overall picture painted with every song heard on here; a tad too melodically sweet and indulgent for thrash metal, but far too fast and nasty for the old school sound of the early 80s, hence the frequently noted ambiguous middle ground that speed and power metal occupied through most of the 1980s.

Per this band's own testimony, their sound was largely molded after the sound codified in Metal Church's earliest offerings, but a more discerning ear as to how this album comes across would come to the conclusion that the German speed-dominated mayhem of Iron Angel is the closest point of comparison. There are very few moments on this 20-minute sonic assault where things back off to more of a crunchy, mid-paced groove, and even the more animated moments on Judas Priest's Defenders Of The Faith come off as a bit restrained when compared against the double-kick happy chaos of "Die For You" and "Deadly Peril". The higher ranged vocalizations put forth by Menting's performance are generally the only point where the band shows any overt leanings towards the older British formula, and even then the rougher edges that occur when he's in a more mid-ranged zone is a bit closer to the ripping grit of Chris Boltendahl. Interestingly enough, while the dueling lead guitar assaults that frequently occur bear a greater similarity to the approach being explored by the American speed/thrash scene, it's tough to miss the melodic hook that graces the chorus of "Deadly Peril", which shows a less overt version of what Helloween would base the emergent European power metal sound of the future upon when the Keepers albums were unleashed.

Despite the highly competent display put forth here by all the respective members of the fold, and without any want of effort in trying to reach a wilder audience, Defender is one of these bands that stuck hard yet seemed to fade away without a trace like the ideal technique of a ninja according to the TMNT character Splinter. Perhaps one could chalk it up to the fact that several bands were using the same name in various parts of Europe, though a more likely explanation would be that this album was stylistically a year or two behind the times, as most of the prominent examples of it came out of either Germany or the United States between 1984 and 1986. Still, anybody with any degree of affinity for the old days when power metal and its earlier heavy metal forbearers were almost joined at the hip from a stylistic standpoint will find a great album in need of a larger audience here. There was some buzz created back in the mid-2000s when this album was given a remaster and proper CD release, owing partially to the earlier revival of interest in the style in Europe thanks to its more melodic cousin's rise to prominence also jumpstarting the careers of the likes of Angel Dust and Paradox. It's worth owning, it's definitely worth hearing, and it continues to be a shame that these guys were never able to follow it up with a full length LP.

The 80s Dutch metal scene has always interested me since it had some pretty good underground bands and material not known by much people. When it comes to metal evolution, the European territory was invaded by the NWOBHM at first, but afterwards, in the mid 80s, a new genre called power metal came to be one of the most popular style in there. A lot of people took on the bandwagon, which spawned huge amount of quite similar bands all across the globe. The Germans of Helloween were definitely the most popular act of that genre and Defender, an underground group from the Netherlands, most likely took good inspiration from them. These guys were musically focused on a high level of energy and velocity regarding their level of playing, but with a melodic side that added a certain charm to their compositions. Not much information is known about this band... They put out a demo in 1985 to start off and got signed by CBS to release an EP and got dropped afterwards and did a little single before spiting-up.

It is not known why Defender only recorded this EP, called "City ad Mortis" rather than doing a full-length record. This mini-album was released in 1987 and at about the right time for such music. However, since most bands from this country never got the deserved attention, it certainly contributed to its dissolution. If we analyse this the simplest way, we could say that what we have here is basically five tracks of typical 80s power/speed metal. Well, to be quite honest, I enjoyed this EP quite alot and maybe more than I should have? There is definitely something that got me hooked up at some point when I first started listening to it. Now that I came back to it for this review, I still feel the good songwriting and emotions displayed in the content of this release, which to me proved that it was some really good quality European power metal in the end.

This mini-album is starting with the album self-titled track "City ad Mortis", which has a spoken intro of like 40 seconds before kicking-off in a kind of brutal way. The pounding riff that came after really caught me off guard the first time I heard this song, but it smoothly transition to the mid-paced verse. Of course, you have the catchy chorus that explain a bit why I got hooked, but there's also an interesting instrumental part that shows a nice level of guitar soloing. The follow-up track called "Die for You" is probably my favorite one as it is mainly fast-paced but still with a melodic approach in regards to the riffs. That formula pretty much repeat itself for "Deadly Peril" but in an even more fierce way. It is also worth mentioning that singer "Simon Menting" had a very good and distinct voice hitting high notes in the more melodic "In the Beginning" song and displayed a good range and different tones. In the lyrical department, I never really got what was their themes, but I guess it's related to some fantasy shit that I've never cared about.

If you pay attention to the actual sound on this mini-album, you can tell that it has some pretty good production value in there. The drums are blasting quite hard and everything seems in place properly even if a better bass sound could have been put in. Overall, this EP is a neat little piece of power/speed metal that can be enjoyed by any fans of the genre, especially the European play style of this genre.

Favorite tracks:

Deadly Peril
Die for You
In the Beginning

Now here is an album worthy of a re-release! CITY AD MORTIS being a true hidden gem of traditional ‘80s metal. See, during the 1980’s Defender was one of Holland’s best known metal bands with this album being their one and only official release (there was also a previous demo, and a following single). Still, through some notable tours (i.e.: with long-gone thrashers Toxik), the band managed to make a name for themselves, before disappearing in the early ‘90s.

As I said, CITY AD MORTIS is a lost classic of traditional heavy metal. For their sound, Defender managed to combine greasy biker metal with melodic Maiden flights of fancy, adding in a hint of thrash metal for good measure. The result songs were often fast, but never speed metal. No doubt good music, but for most listeners it’s vocalist Simon Menting that will either make or break the band. An emotive storyteller for sure, but I can hear where his high-pitched vocals might grate on some ears. Imagine a thinner-sounding Rick Hughes (from Canada’s mighty legends Sword) and you’ve got an idea of what Simon sounds like.

With all that said, I love this band. CITY AD MORTIS is just such a kick to listen to. Every song kick ass, although my personal favorite would be adrenaline rush of “Deadly Peril”. For bonus tracks, we get the 2 songs from the JOURNEY TO THE UNEXPECTED single from 1989. Of these, “Tales of the Unexpected” is a full-speed ahead headbanger, while “The Journey” is mid-paced and moody. Both songs are great. “Labour Liberates” is an unreleased demo track that is another fast one, even slightly heavier than the previous stuff. Finally, the album closes with three live songs, two covers (serviceable) and one unreleased instrumental.

This is by far my favorite re-issue from Rusty Cage Records, and any true fan of ‘80s metal should make a point of checking out this album.

In current news, Defender has re-united and is working on a new album, composed of songs written but not released during the ‘80s. I recommend everyone be on the lookout for that! Also, I highly recommend checking out the band’s great website, where they’ve got a TON of music available for free download.

- Originally posted on Metal-Rules.com -

A City of perfection - Holland has quite an arsenal of bands from the 80's that only managed to release demo's and nothing else, while the quality of these bands seemed to always surpass any standards and went above and beyond. Of these majestic bands, Defender is the one that destroys any barrier in its path and completely launches leaps ahead of any standard and sets an example for many to follow, although an almost impossible one. Its got the attitude and sound that rivals Jag Panzer's Ample Destruction, complexities that nearly surpass Metal Church's first releases, and with the speed that easily lands them a spot in old school speed/power terrotory.

Perhaps its the work of some remastering with the re-release a year ago in 2006 by Rusty Cage Records, but the sound is tremendously heavy and frighteningly dark. The drums thomp and blast away until no tommorow while the guitars and bass completely dominate the thick atmosphere. Defender were apparently heavily influenced by Metal Church at the time, but call me crazy, if Defender would have gotten around to releasing a full length album it'd be higher than anything Metal Church has ever done in my book. The influence is definitely there though Defender seems more focused on mindbending leads and they're all around faster. Vocalist Simon Menting sounds very comparable to Mike Howe except for the fact that he seems to have an easier time carrying out longer notes and hitting higher ones. His performance is explosive and through most of this EP he sounds demandingly pissed off.

Its hard to describe just how majestic each of the five original songs here are, each track is a stand alone mindblowing experience. The work on the structures on the first track City Ad Mortis is undeniable proof that speed metal can be just as diverse as any other genre out there, if not more so. Die For You continues the journey and has by far some of the finest and most mesmerizing leads I have ever heard. Just when you thought they had hit their speed limit, Deadly Pearl galops away like a giant collosus topped off with one hell of an unforgettable chorus and vocals. The buildups and solo's on this one come out of nowhere and are completely unexpecting. Quality never seems to let up and in fact it just gets better and better track after track, with In The Beginning taking the epic factor to its peak. Counter Attack keeps the epic scale at its highest and almost sounds like something Tyrant (US) would have written.

The bonus tracks are extremely impressive as well. Both Tales of the Unexpected and The Journey sound like something you'd get if you mixed a very pissed off Helloween (Keepers era) with Metal Church. The style does seem slightly different and a little more laid back than the first five tracks of the EP, but they're still drastically above par and very enjoyable. Labour Liberates as one of their long lost forgotten demo tracks takes a slump in production, regardless it still displays some of the highest potential you could ever hear from a band that never got the glory they deserved. Finally, Simon Menting sounds even better and more fierce on the live tracks than the studio ones, which is pretty unusual for most vocalists.

Above all however, its mainly about the EP itself as it contains hands down the greatest tracks on here and the ones that reflect my rating. Throwing out a few of the big names, Omen, Jag Panzer, Metal Church, Helstar, Liege Lord, Agent Steel, Attack, Savage Grace, Tyrant, etc - fans should see this as an absolute highlight of 80's speed/power metal. You DON'T get better than this. When the boat sinks this one is going down with me.