Justice by our own hands
We will fight
But can we be self-made heroes?
Call to Arms, it's in our hands, we're not helpless anymore
Call to Arms, defend the fallen, we won't take it like before
Call to Arms, we'll change the system from the inside out
Call to Arms, it's our turn now, we'll reclaim the streets again
THE DEFILED
So sings frontman Stitch D in “Call To Arms”, the second single from THE DEFILED’s debut album, released February 2011. What he would have had no idea of at the time is just how much this statement would ring true for THE DEFILED just over a year later.
2012 has been a phenomenal year for THE DEFILED. Despite self-releasing their debut album at the beginning of 2011 – after giving away 45,000 copies for free on the cover of Metal Hammer magazine – it seems that now, in the year of Nostradamus’ predicted Armageddon, things have finally started to fall into place for the London five piece. 2011 was by no means bad; a UK tour with Murderdolls, a headline slot on the Jagermeister stage at SONISPHERE festival and opening the main stage at BLOODSTOCK festival, plus two headline tours boasting sold out shows up and down the country – cemented their reputation as one of the UK’s best live acts and most exciting new bands amongst metal fans up and down the country. But it is this year that the momentum has gained pace, and the watchful eyes of the industry have turned to this promising young band.
After turning heads at the annual SXSW music showcase in Austin, Texas in March, THE DEFILED returned to the UK to open the London show of the Jagermeister Music tour the following month, playing to 5000 people at Brixton Academy at their biggest London show to date. May saw the band appear in prime time ITV2 reality TV show The Exclusives, putting them on TV sets across the country, before taking to the Pepsi Max Stage at DOWNLOAD for a triumphant festival appearance to a packed tent in June.
Still buzzing from their Download performance, Stitch D, The AvD, Curse, Vincent Hyde and Needles attended the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards to pick up the Best New Band Award – a prestigious award voted for by fans, validating the bands efforts thus far amongst both music fans and industry a like.
October was spent on tour supporting power metal heroes DRAGONFORCE, which saw THE DEFILED play to around 10,000 metalheads up and down the country. Stylistically very different from the headliners, THE DEFILED were nonetheless rapturously received, proving just how wide an audience they can attract within the rock and metal pool.
A glorious example of life imitating art, the band have replied with a hearty “YES!” to the question “Can we be self-made heroes?”, proving how with the right attitude, direction and ambition, even a young band can take control of their own destiny. With finances secured via a fan-funded campaign with PledgeMusic, THE DEFILED spent the summer in Florida recording their second album with internationally renown metal producer Jason Suecof (Trivium, God Forbid, Whitechapel, Job For A Cowboy, Black Dahlia Murder, Black Tide, Chimaira to name a few), realizing a dream that before would have only been possible with a hefty record label advance.
The resulting album will be highly anticipated amongst both fans and the adoring UK rock media, and one destined to catapult THE DEFILED to the international superstardom that is inevitable.
Set for a summer release via indie metal powerhouse NUCLEAR BLAST, the added muscle of an international record label sets the sky as the limit for THE DEFILED. Don’t take your eyes off this space.
