Act of Defiance, ‘Refrain and Re-Fracture’ – Exclusive Song Premiere

Act of Defiance have been on the tips of metal fans' tongues since former Megadeth members Chris Broderick and Shawn Drover announced the name of their new project earlier this year. And with the band's Birth and the Burial debut disc inching closer, the group has decided to whet the appetite of their fans with yet another new song from the disc. They've teamed up with Loudwire to exclusively bring you the track "Refrain and Re-Fracture."

As can be heard in the player below, the song is a mix of musical styles. Opening with acoustic guitar, adding in some electric guitar riffing, upping the energy and shifting the pace as the cymbal crashes begin and reaching full brutality once Henry Derek's vocals kick it, "Refrain and Re-Fracture" takes you on a musical journey.

As stated, the group features Broderick on guitar and Drover on drums, while the band is rounded out by Shadows Fall bassist Matt Bachand and former Scar the Martyr singer Henry Derek. The group spent a good portion of the spring in the studio working with producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris on the new release and they've set an Aug. 21 street date for Birth and the Burial.

Drover tells us, "'Refrain and Re-Fracture' is a great example of using musical dynamics in a heavy metal song. All of us in Act of Defiance have always been fans of cool acoustic/classical song intros before the metal assault kicks in, so when Chris presented this song to me I immediately loved the tune."

He adds, "Henry Derek really did a great job here as well by using his range a bit more as a singer, going from brutal singing to injecting some more melodic phrasing within the song as well, but still sounding very powerful. 'Refrain and Re-Fracture' is just another great example of showing that Birth and the Burial is certainly not a one dimensional heavy metal record.”

Broderick further adds: "'Refrain and Re-Fracture's creation started off with the classical guitar of all instruments. (laughs) I wanted a moody beginning into a heavy verse with each instrument entering and slowly building the tension until the transition to the verse. At this point a tempo change was needed for something more fast paced and aggressive with heavy vocals. Henry definitely delivered on that!!!

He adds, "For the chorus I definitely was looking for as much melody as possible but still heavy in nature. The bridge to the solo and the solo has a much more modern feel to them utilizing polyrhythms to create groove and an open canvas for my solo. As for the solo, hell I just hope people like what I did. (laughs) Overall I feel this song does a great job of showing how diverse Act of Defiance can be while still staying firmly rooted in metal!"

Act of Defiance's Birth and Burial disc, which has already yielded the single and video "Throwback," is currently available to pre-order in a variety of bundle options at this location.

Act of Defiance, "Refrain and Re-Fracture"

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