''Beyond Recognition'' is the third full-length album (and final until 2009's ''

The Prophecy ''The Prophecy'' is a 1995 American fantasy thriller film starring Christopher Walken, Elias Koteas, Virginia Madsen, Eric Stoltz, and Viggo Mortensen. It was written and directed by Gregory Widen in his feature directorial debut, and is the f ...

'') by American

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band

Defiance Defiance may refer to: Film, television and theatre * ''Defiance'' (1952 film), a Swedish drama film directed by Gustaf Molander * ''Defiance'' (1980 film), an American crime drama starring Jan-Michael Vincent * ''Defiance'' (2002 film), a ...

, released in 1992 on

Roadrunner Records Roadrunner Records is an American record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock bands. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. History The label was launched in 1980 in t ...

. It was a bit of a departure from the band's previous work. It can be best described as "

progressive thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

", featuring more complex song structures,

odd time signatures The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

, numerous

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

and tempo changes, technical

riffs A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accomp ...

and drumming, and even clean sections that often evoked

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

. This newer, more distinctive style earned the band their biggest critical success to date, and many fans hail it as their finest work. Despite this, the album did not sell as well as their previous works due to a shifting musical landscape and as a result, poor advertisement for the album. It has been out of print for many years, though many thrash fans consider it to be a lost gem of the genre. During the recording of ''Beyond Recognition'', vocalist Steev Esquivel temporarily left the band due to lack of focus due to drug addiction. He came back later when the band was not satisfied with their replacement vocalist. All of the tracks on the album still had Esquivel on lead vocals. Former

Heathen __NOTOC__ Heathen or Heathens may refer to: Religion *Heathen, another name for a pagan *Heathen, an adherent of Heathenry Music *Band of Heathens, a North American rock and roll band *Heathen (band), a North American thrash metal band *The Hea ...

vocalist Dave White makes a guest appearance on "Inside looking Out", doing a vocal harmony with Esquivel during the chorus line. Ed Repka also did the cover art.

Track listing

#Killing Floor (03:45) #Step Back (05:01) #Perfect Nothing (05:38) #No Compromise (04:14) #Dead Silence (04:10) #Inside Looking Out (05:19) #The Chosen (04:16) #Powertrip (04:22) #Promised Afterlife (4:50) #Beyond Recognition (Unreleased 1991) (Bonus track) (1:20)

Lineup

*Steev Esquivel – lead vocals * Doug Harrington – guitars *Jim Adams – guitars *Mike Kaufmann – bass *Matt Vander Ende – drums *Dave White – backing vocals on "Inside Looking Out"

References

1992 albums Defiance (band) albums Roadrunner Records albums Albums with cover art by Ed Repka {{1990s-thrash-metal-album-stub