THE DEFIANTS are back with their sophomore album, “Zokusho”. Comprised of Paul Laine, Bruno Ravel, and Rob Marcello, The Defiants is three fabulous musicians who, as fans in the know will immediately recognize, all have ties to popular hard rockers,Danger Danger. Today, the band has released the first single and video from the album. Enjoy “Fallin’ For You” here:
https://youtu.be/dIcnJzX43H0
On how the new album compares to their debut, bassist Bruno Ravel says, “I think the “sound” of the album, while very similar to the debut, is a bit more focused. I also think that the songs, as a collection, are stronger than the debut.” Vocalist/guitarist Paul Laine says, “I think the sound of the record is a natural progression from the first record. I think both Bruno and I felt pressure to deliver a record that we could feel as proud of as the first one. On a personal note, I feel the Bruno really outdid himself on the mix of the album. To me, it is sonically beautiful.” Guitarist Rob Marcello adds, “It’s basically more of the same. Why mess with a winning concept! Haha I’m very proud of the last one, but I feel the songs are stronger on the new album.”
The songwriting process for “Zokusho” was “the same as the debut. Paul and I sift through ideas, refine them and what you hear is the end result,” tells Ravel. “Bruno and I tossed the idea ball back and forth until the album was completed. Discipline and hard work, with a focus on the same passion that we had making the first album,” adds Laine. Marcello chimes in that “Bruno and Paul have such a great formula for writing songs, so when I get to them they’re pretty much complete. Then I get to decorate them with some Scandinavian flavor!”
The Defiants debut album was greeted with a great acclaim as a glorious return to the “in your face” melodic hard rock that enraptured millions of fans back in the ’80s and ’90s and is currently enjoying a renaissance here in the 21st century, so a follow-up album was a no-brainer. The brand new album, “Zokusho”, a Japanese word meaning “sequel” or “the next chapter”, is now set for release on September 13, 2019. This album also features Steve West of D2 on drums. Needless to say, this album has all the ingredients to thrill D2 and The Defiants fans. A BIG melodic rock album with big choruses, hooks and soaring guitars and vocals.
On first single, “Fallin’ For You” Ravel explains that he “came up with the hook first, then mixed elements from ’80’s AOR, and tried to give them an updated more aggressive approach. That’s what The Defiants do! As for what it is about, boy is lost, meets girl, falls hard for her… BOOM!” Laine’s take on it is that “it was the last song written for the album. I don’t ever like to talk about what the lyrics are about, save for the fact that I only ever write what I know. Songs mean different things to different people, and that’s the beauty of a song, isn’t it? And it’s never going to mean the same thing to you as it does to me most likely, as you haven’t put the miles in my shoes. With the title of the aforementioned song, everybody is going to think it means what it says, but does it? Read your lyrics kids…just like the old days…then you tell me what it means.” Marcello simply adds, “you’d have to ask Bruno and Paul about that one, I like the guitar solo though!”
Best known for being the D2 vocalist on four studio albums over the course of 12 years, Paul Laine came back to work with his former bandmates Bruno Ravel and Rob Marcello, who are the other two pillars of The Defiants, for the band’s self-titled debut album in 2015. The guys reunited at the suggestion of Frontiers’ President Serafino Perugino, who really wanted these current and former Danger Danger members to offer fans of that band some new music. The resulting album was pleasing not only to the D2 fans, but also to ALL the fans out there who are into the classic sound of the era from which D2 emerged.
