This is our thirteenth full-length album that was released in 2011. 'On Wings Of Defiance' is a theme album, revolving around, obviously, defiance: standing for what one believes in, against whatever odds, whatever the cost. The album's first eight tracks all tell tales of defiance and the title track explicitly vocalizes the record's theme.
The album starts off with 'Where Eagles Die', telling the tale of the great victory of Germanic tribes against the mighty Roman Empire in 9 CE. The title of this song has nothing to do with the somewhat similarly-titled Maiden song; the 'eagles' refer to the standards of the three Roman legions that were lost in that legendary battle.Next is 'I Am The Infidel', treading more familiar BM lyrical ground as it is about standing defiant against organized religion. Third is 'Let The River Run Red', recounting the great victory of the Scots over the English at Stirling Bridge in 1297 CE. The fourth song is 'Invictus', using as its lyric the classic poem by William Ernest Henley. Fifth song is 'At The Hot Gates I Stand', telling the tale of the last stand of the Spartans and Thespians at Thermopylae against the massive Persian army in 480 BCE. Next is 'Foggy Dew', a metal version of the classic Irish song about the Easter Rising in 1916 CE, when a handful of Irishmen defiantly rose up against the British Empire. The following track is 'Sermon Of The Devil Preacher', a metal sermon preaching opposition. The penultimate track is 'An Emperor's Stand', about the defiant stand of the last pagan Roman emperor, Julian the Apostate, against the christian church during his all-too-brief reign (361-363 CE).
