Nightbearer – Defiance

The shortest way to describe German quintet Nightbearer is to call it ‘old-school death metal – heavily influenced by fantasy & horror literature’. Those who bear the night: Michael Torka (vocals & lyrics), Dominik Hellmuth (guitars), Florian Böhmfeld (bass), Manuel Lüke (drums) and Tristan Schubert (guitars). The band, founded in 2017, is hailing from Paderborn, North Rhine-Westphalia, and earlier this summer (2025) they released their third full-length album Defiance, consisting of the following ten tracks:

1. Dust

2. His Dark Materials

3. Defiance

4. One Church Over All

5. Dying Knows No Bounds

6. Reign Supreme

7. Under the Sun of War

8. Ascension

9. Until We Meet Again

10. Republic Of Heaven

Defiance undoubtedly remains a death metal bone-ripping sonic assault, but it’s equally clear that the guys decided to add some metalcore influences into their trademark death metal, something that was not the case on its 2019 Tales of Sorcery and Death and 2022’s Ghosts of a Darkness to Come. It never tends of getting boring as there’re numerous tempo changes, from very fast to slow rhythms, from angry undertones to a little more subdued ones. Furthermore, Nightbearer use sharp songwriting and fantasy literature as themes for their albums, and it’s the Phillip Pullman series, “His Dark Materials” that inspired Defiance too. The lyrics are about humanity’s liberation from oppression, depicting a final rebellion against religious tyranny, fighting for freedom, and using ‘weapons, forged by heart and will’.

Throughout its playing time of 46 minutes, Defiance features an outstanding production, with a mix of technical brutality and emotional depth, a cohesive and well-structured songs, and the strategic use of atmospheric and symphonic elements. It includes a balanced mix with a powerful low-end, clean yet impactful vocals, intricate and well-defined instruments, and dynamic songwriting that builds intensity and maintains your engagement from start to finish.

I wouldn’t consider myself a fan of this metal (sub)genre, but I have to admit that this blend feels natural and very well thought through. I found myself entartained while listening to this album, where I think that the particular combination of styles actually works in an impressively beautiful manner. In other words; Defiance is very mature, coherent and cohesive, diverse and an interesting album, that deserves to be blared out of your speakers on a high volume.

Conclusion; Defiance demonstrates the right level of evolution for the band, being band’s most complete and most musically diverse full-length to date, where the quintet display a perfect sense of timing by offering the world a death metal act of Defiance, based on the “His Dark Materials” trilogy!

Especially recommended for those who like the bands such as Dark Tranquillity, At The Gates, Dismember, Grave, Edge of Sanity, Dissection, Entombed, Opeth and other, mainly Gothenburg-rooted, bands.

For more info on this third full-length installment from Nightbearer visit their bandcamp.