I happened upon this amazing release purely by timing. Having never heard of Assemblage 23, I of course never sought out any releases, that is until a complete stranger mentioned the project in passing. Later that week while searching through a use CD store's racks, I came across Defiance and decided to give it a go. And I am quite glad I did. This is electronic music with a heart and soul. Passionate and moving, this release was filled start to finish with stand-out tracks. This album delivers whether at home or on the dance floor. Tom Shear has immense talent and I have not been disappointed by him yet, Assemblage 23 is easily the most consistantly excellent EBM acts in the market today. I highly recommend this album.

i am a huge fan of assemblage 23 and must say that in my opinion, this is by far their best album yet. i love this album so much, i find myself always having to make multiple copies and then again wearing them out in a repeitious fashion.. assemblage 23 has a way of opening up the emotional valves up on the human conscience, and taking you to a place where one can be privy to a wide range, of feelings, thoughts, reliving past experiances and so on. it certainly has had that effect on me many a time.. my favorite tracks are the emotionally jarring document and of course drive, but i also like the last track lullaby.. its kind of slow, and sad, but gives me a comforting feeling that im still here, alive and things will be ok... its a must have and youd have to be utterly stupid not to at least give this wonderful album a try....

has a great beat. Each song has its own rhythm without loosing its basic beat process. Maps of "Reality" and "Blindhammer" are two of my personal favorites, having a fast, robust rhythm.

Theres not one song i skip on this album, and features the beautiful "lullaby" which is possibly one of my most favorite songs ever.

IF you are wanting to get into A23 this album (or failure) are the ones to get.

I love A23, but IMO, this is not the best A23 album in circulation. To be honest it's one of his least imaginative albums yet. There are some good soongs on the album that would please any fan of future pop music, sadley this just isn't up to par with the classic A23 album 'Failure', or his 2007 masterpeice 'Meta'. If your new to A23, i strongly suggest that you start with one of those albums instead.