In Defiance of Existence

AMG Review of In Defiance of Existence

Brian O'Neill
All Music Guide

Despite traveling even farther away from lack metal's roots, Old Man's Child is still one of the consummate death metal acts, mainly because In Defiance of Existence remains as uncompromisingly vicious as it is confidently experimental. Ambient keyboard swells rule the landscape, changing tempos and volume as often as necessary, but not too often to usurp the catchiness of the fast riffing and drum fills, making this disc the best of all worlds without sacrificing anything out of supposed contradictions. In a genre that is either black or white, Old Man's Child has released a disc that resides in gray areas previously unexplored and even feared unattainable, making the transformation from pedigreed players living on reputation alone to a force to be reckoned with.