Formed in 1985 by Brad Bowers (guitar), Mike Kaufmann (bass) and Matt
Vander Ende (drums). In 1986 Doug Harrington (guitar) was added to the
line up, but due to personal differences between Doug and Brad, they replaced
Doug with Jim Adams (guitar) in late summer of that year. After Jim had
been in the band for about 5 months he too began to experience 'personal
differences' with Brad. The band decided to let Brad go and bring back
Doug into the fold.
In early 1987, Mitch Mayes joined the band (vocals). Defiance did several
shows with this line up and recorded their first demo. Shortly after the
demo was completed, Mitch left the band and was replaced by Ken Elkinton
(vocals) and soon after they recorded their second demo "Hypothermia". This demo caught the attention of Roadrunner Records who signed the band to a record deal in the Summer of 1988. Defiance then traveled to Vancouver Canada to record their first album with Jeff Waters of Annihlator as producer.
1989 saw the release of their debut album "Product of Society"
and soon after Elkinton was replaced by Steev Esquivel.
In 1990 they released
their second album "Void Terra Firma" which was recorded at Prairie Sun Recording Studios in Cotati, CA with John Cuniberti doing the production duties.
Two years later
in 1992 came the band's finest work to date,"Beyond Recognition". This album was recorded at Bayview Studios in Richmond, CA and was produced by Rob Beaton. This would turn out
to be their last.
Adams and Van der Ende immediately took their leave from Defiance and were therefore superseeded by guitarist Brian Wenzel and drummer Mike Bennett.
Brian Wenzel and Mike Bennett not only joined the band Defiance in 1993, they also *left* the band within months of joining. Jim Adams returned to replace the ousted Wenzel and Mike Bennett left on his own a few months later. Bennett was replaced by Tyson Leeper on drums. Defiance continued to write new material and did several local shows with this line up before Steev Esquivel left the band in late 1993. During the search for a replacement, Tyson also left Defiance. Steev was replaced by Dave Godfrey White (Heathen) and the next drummer to join the ranks of Defiance was Paul Bloemink. After doing a few shows and recording a demo with Rob Beaton (Defiance, Heathen) producing, the decision was made to replace Paul with Hugo Barrientos on drums.
It was at this time, the band decided that the new material sounded nothing like the Defiance that had recorded the first three albums, and made the move to change their name to Inner Threshold. Inner Threshold continued to record and play shows until 1995, when Adams and White exited and were replaced by Chris Long on vocals and guitar.
The band then changed their name again to Under.
Under played shows and recorded numerous demos until finally calling it quits in 1999.
Defiance regrouped in 2005 with four of the original members. With the addition of new drummer, James 'Flatline' Raymond to the group in the summer of 2005, the group had began to work towards completing a new four song EP.
In November of 2006, guitarist Doug Harrington passed away. The band went through a long period of grief, while still trying to work towards completing the project started in 2005, in Doug's honor.
In September of 2008 Defiance signed with Candlelight Records a major independent metal record label. They are currently working towards completing a full length CD, with the addition of Mark Hernandez on drums, replacing James Raymond. The new album is currently scheduled for a Spring 2009 release.
The current line up of Defiance is:
Jim Adams - Guitars
Steev Esquivel - Vocals
Mike Kaufmann - Bass
Mark Hernandez - Drums
Greetings!! I hope you're doing fine there! If you have a little time check back my portfolio, here in myspace! Myspace Design - Covers & CDs - Websites // DERZ'OTH DESIGN
Hey guys, I've had all three of your albums for a while via download from your website, but I decided to order a copy of the Insomnia box set before they were all gone. It arrived today and I must say it was worth every penny. So I just wanted to thank you guys for an incredible release!
THANK YOU FOR ACCEPTING OUR REQUEST! YOUR FRIENDSHIP IS VERY IMPORTANT TO US! STOP BY OUR SITE ANYTIME AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OR JUST STOP BY AND LET US KNOW HOW YOU ARE DOING! WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU SOON! BE SURE! AND GET MILITIA'S NEW CD "RELEASED". ALSO INCLUDED IS A 24-PAGE COLOR BOOKLET! A HISTORY OF MILITIA'S ONSLAUGHT ON THE STATE OF TEXAS UNDERGROUND METAL SCENE! IN ALLIANCE WITH ROCKADROME RECORDS SUPPORTING METAL WORLDWIDE! JESSE VILLEGAS/MILITIA
Whats up Bro's ??? Just saw and hung with Exodus and Testament on the Eastside... When are you coming over ??? Put out some shirts, My Void Terra Firma is way to small these days !!! 20 years Jesus. 3X !!!
URTO, the only Italian band featured in Get Thrashed, have just signed a deal with the label Punishment 18 Records for the release and distribution of their debut album "Upside down". The album is available now and is distributed by Masterpiece (Worldwide), Firebox (Finland), Soundforge (Greece) and Andromeda (Italy). Cheers!!!
Do you guys remember URTO, the only Italian band featured in Get Thrashed? Their debut album "Upside down" is available now via Punishment 18 Records and is distributed by Masterpiece, Firebox (Finland), Soundforge (Greece) and Andromeda (Italy). Cheers!!!
