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Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Forgotten Gems: Defiant-Can't Give It Up

I've got the fabulous site Boneyard Metal to thank for this discovery. Released in 1985 on the (fun-named) label Rad Elmo, which may or may not have been a homemade record label of the band's own making, this five-track EP was most-likely only released on vinyl. Featuring Sylvia La Mar on lead vocals, with Kenny Williams (guitars, keyboards), Tracy Wright (bass) and Clark "Moose" Johnson (drums) rounding things out, this was the one and only "official" release from this Hollywood, California act. Mind you that's if you don't count the group's self-titled cassette demo from 1987. That's neither here nor there though when we're talking about this heavy rock-leaning act with sultry and seductive lead vocals!  This female-fronted heavy metal act, which should not be confused with the other Defiant that hailed from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and released "Hear The Laugh" in 1995, gets extra points for Sylvia La Mar alone....even if the rest of the band members present here were no real slouches either!Maybe this one is not up to the standards of similar-themed hard & heavy acts of the mid-eighties (or for that matter some of the female-fronted rock and roll artists that were shinning on a spot-light on how well the leading ladies of the time could compete with their male counterparts!), but as a stand-alone piece it's a fun EP with straight, no-filler numbers and smoking hot lead vocals! Definitely worth downloading if you're into female-fronted heavy metal or the more rock-oriented sounds of eighties metal!

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