At first blush, one would look at The Defect and its ideaman Jonny McBee, and say ‘other than offering us The Browning but with a female lead vocalist, what is the point of this?’ It’s a reasonable question, but it leaves a lot on the table, and oversimplifies what’s contained on The Defect’s debut album “Death X Destiny.”
Really what this album represents is a consequence-free space for McBee and vocalist Moon to explore some of the corners of industrial music without jeopardizing the established reputation of The Browning or any associated musical acts.
To that end, “Death X Destiny” dives into a few corners that we either seldom hear, or simply haven’t heard in a while. One needn’t go father than the single “Lost in the Shadows” to hear the kind of industrial ballad (if such a thing can be said to exist,) that hasn’t really existed since Fear Factory’s “Resurrection” (and you know, all the stuff that happened to Fear Factory.) Truly, what’s old can be new again, and with the modern twist that The Defect employs as they go about their business, their sound is fresh and vital.
If that were the only exploratory hallmark of “Death X Destiny,” then the album would be a shallow experience, but McBee and Moon pull from a lot of other corners as well. There’s the rock-ish song “Dreamwalker,” which might sound appropriate on an Emigrate album, as well as “Into the Void” (not a cover of the Black Sabbath song,) which carries the kind of tone we’ve come to expect from Fear of Domination. Oh, and there’s plenty of other recognizable pieces in there as well, from sources as far flung as DJ Zardonic to Kontrust to Ministry to Deadlock, and of course, an actual appearance by The Browning for “Immortal.”
Don’t be misled - these comparisons are merely for the sake of touchstones that the audience will recognize. The Defect incorporates these styles while overlaying them with their own original flavor, most of which is centered around the vocals of Moon. She does not lend a virtuoso performance to the album, but she is also not asked to. To do so may have actually defeated the pulse and tenor of the album and what it was trying to convey. If The Browning is meant to be an all-out aural assault, then The Defect is something different, teasing at the ethereal, even as it hammers along with industrial might. Moon’s detached, purposefully quiet and haunting vocal line makes this record…well, demure is the wrong word, but something of that implication as it sits among its industrial contemporaries.
“Death X Destiny” is a fascinating collection of parts and experiments, and is fine for a debut, but there’s room for growth here, if the band (duo?) is to be a continuing concern. Really, the band could go in one of two directions - either lean into the low-fi beat market and capitalize on the anesthetic, hypnotic quality of Moon’s vocals, or lean into the extreme and try to become an American 6:33. Either way, the potential to produce something revolutionary exists.
And perhaps that’s the final takeaway of “Death X Destiny.” While the album is fine for what it is, it is more appealing in the way it represents a possible future than it is a listening experience in the present.
