{"id":482356,"date":"2026-02-21T17:55:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T17:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/482356\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T17:55:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T17:55:08","slug":"wreck-defy-dissecting-the-leech-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/482356\/","title":{"rendered":"Wreck-Defy – Dissecting the Leech Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Is a supergroup still a supergroup if the members who made it a supergroup are no longer part of the band? Last Canada\u2019s Wreck-Defy passed through these halls, Steel Druhm was pleasantly surprised by their third LP, Powers That Be<\/a>. However, the band that Steel reviewed has seen some significant lineup changes since then. Two of the original power players\u2014Aaron Randall (ex-Annihilator) and Alex Marquez (ex-Malevolent Creation)\u2014have departed, replaced with one newbie (David Allan, drums) and one seasoned vet in vocalist Greg Wagner (Wags Metal Inc.). The glue holding Wreck-Defy together is lead guitarist Matt Hanchuck and ex-Testament bassist Greg Christian, and at essence they remain a speedy act with plenty of killer riff acrobatics. Six albums in, Wreck-Defy prove they remain a force in thrash.<\/p>\n

Dissecting the Leech sets the thrashy tone with some sweet riffs and thumping blast beats on opener \u201cUnder the Sun.\u201d Hanchuck collaborates with a long list of guest guitarists, such as Chris Poland (ex-Megadeth) and Mike Gilbert (Flotsam and Jetsam<\/a>), to ensure a never-ending supply of fresh, exciting riffs, solos, and other guitar antics. As in prior outings, Wreck-Defy plays largely in the Testament mold with a few Megadethian flourishes. However, it\u2019s not all pedal to the medal\u2014plenty of songs vary in tempo, like the melodic, mid-paced \u201cMillenial Dystopia\u201d and the near-ballad \u201cThe Path.\u201d While retaining their core identity, Wreck-Defy manage a varied sound throughout Dissecting the Leech, with tunes lasting anywhere from the blink-of-an-eye at three-and-a-half minutes (\u201cDo It Again\u201d) to the progressively-paced six-and-a-half minutes of \u201cI Don\u2019t Care.\u201d The latter flexes creative songwriting similar to last year\u2019s Helms Deep<\/a>, with a mid-track portion that unexpectedly rockets off into a shreddy solo that\u2019s absolutely riveting.<\/p>\n

While Hanchuck and Christian prove to be the heart, the two new players more than hold their own. Greg Wagner has the grizzled voice of an old soul and brings a level of grit to the music. Yet he\u2019s no one-trick pony, occasionally rising to the falsetto of many power metal vocalists, not to mention taking a few stabs at King Diamond shrieks. His surprise melodic lilt on \u201cAnother Day\u201d proves to be one of the record\u2019s highlights. David Allan proves to be quite effective behind the kit as well. His opening kicks to \u201cUnder the Sun\u201d establish a fiercely energetic tone that resonates throughout much of Dissecting the Leech. Perhaps my favorite moment comes from \u201cThe Haunting Past,\u201d a completely bonkers track that sounds like its instruments have gone haywire before delivering a blitzkrieg of thrashy riffs and blast beats powered by Allan\u2019s jaw-dropping performance.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Wreck-Defy power their thrash into social critiques that prove forceful behind their spirited performances. They tackle environmental, political, and generational issues, casting a gloomy pall over modern events. On \u201cUnder the Sun,\u201d they lament the degradation of our planet through warfare (\u201cLook at the damage we\u2019ve done\u201d) and warn, \u201cwe\u2019ll all die under the sun.\u201d Concern turns towards the younger generations on \u201cMillenial Dystopia,\u201d where Wreck-Defy observes that \u201cthere\u2019s no room to grow old,\u201d leading to a \u201cgeneration of no hope.\u201d All people want, according to \u201cAnother Day,\u201d is \u201cair to breathe \/ just let me live another day.\u201d Considering critiques from Steel and commenters over juvenile lyrics from Powers That Be, Wreck-Defy appear to have matured in their storytelling and thematic content. They offer a coherent narrative, even if it just boils down to \u201cthe world is a mess,\u201d and mankind is facing \u201ca dark, dismal future\u201d (\u201cRevolt\u201d), and end on the hopeful message that they\u2019ll \u201ckeep on fighting\u201d for what\u2019s right (\u201cApocalypse of Hope\u201d).<\/p>\n

Like Steel before me, I had never heard of Wreck-Defy before taking this promo, and I\u2019m impressed. Dissecting the Leech is proving among the best in a rather good year for thrash so far, though a few things do hold it back. At 48 minutes, it\u2019s a tad long, but considering its progressive leanings and the impressive musicianship, that\u2019s a minor issue. A couple of songs don\u2019t fit in as well as the rest (\u201cDissecting the Leech,\u201d \u201cThe Path\u201d), proving to be weak links amidst a great set. \u201cThe Path\u201d is particularly puzzling, appearing to serve as the evening wind-down music to help settle the kids and old-timers for bedtime. But you\u2019d better hurry because the ironically-named finale, \u201cApocalypse of Hope,\u201d serves a jolt of caffeine to keep the party going. If you like thrash, you\u2019ll have a good time with Dissecting the Leech.<\/p>\n

\ufeff<\/p>\n

Rating: 3.5\/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 256 kbps mp3
Label: Massacre Records<\/a>
Websites: Bandcamp<\/a> | Facebook<\/a>
Releases Worldwide: February 20th, 2026<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Is a supergroup still a supergroup if the members who made it a supergroup are no longer part…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":482357,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[54639,12018,146502,78948,222306,88,210671,62485,133115,222307,222308,16401,208580,57724,216,91422,899,900,67419,222309,46895,222310,222311],"class_list":{"0":"post-482356","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-54639","9":"tag-3-5","10":"tag-annihilator","11":"tag-canadian-metal","12":"tag-dissecting-the-leech","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-feb26","15":"tag-helms-deep","16":"tag-iced-earth","17":"tag-into-eternity","18":"tag-king-diamond","19":"tag-malevolent-creation","20":"tag-massacre-records","21":"tag-megadeth","22":"tag-music","23":"tag-power-metal","24":"tag-review","25":"tag-reviews","26":"tag-testament","27":"tag-the-order-of-chaos","28":"tag-thrash-metal","29":"tag-wags-metal-inc","30":"tag-wreck-defy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=482356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482356\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/482357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=482356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=482356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=482356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}