Defiance

The band's debut proper was, Product of Society (1989), but they were unsatisfied with Waters' production job, with his desire to turn down the volume pots on the guitars, resulting in a thin riff sound, and the members also claiming Waters was acting unprofessionally during the recording. Nonetheless, the album managed to attract attention in the thrash metal community, despite the frequent criticism accusing the band of being a Testament knock-off. It was not long after when Elkington was fired due to lack of commitment. He would be replaced by former Laughing Dead vocalist Steev Esquivel who was added to finish the band's tours supporting the album.

With Esquivel on board, Defiance released their second album, Void Terra Firma (1990). Produced by John Cuniberti (best known for producing Joe Satriani's Surfing With the Alien), the production was slightly better than the previous work but still left a definciency despite the album being the band's best commercial success. The album also featured a cover of Iron Maiden's Killers.

The band went into the studio to record their third album in 1991, but problems arose when Esquivel's drug addictions became an issue, causing him to leave and briefly replaced by former Militia vocalist Matt Ulrickson, but the band was dissatisfied with the results and fired him.

The now cleaner Esquivel returned to the band, but this led to the delay of the recording of the album which was finally released in 1992 as Beyond Recognition. The album was a shift from the band's original thrash metal stylings by exploring more technical songs with odd time signatures and strange song structures, even experimenting with jazz fusion elements. This coupled with the much improved production granted the album the status od Defiance's best work by many fans. It was by far the band's most critically acclaimed album, but due to a lack of support from the label and a shifting musical atmosphere, it suffered in sales especially in America. This was further complicated by the band being denied a tour of Europe with Sepultura, where the band still had a substantial audience. Adams and Ende left the band after the album's tentative single, Inside Looking Out (featuring guest vocals from David White of Heathen), was denied single or video release. They were replaced by Brian Wenzel and Mike Bennet respectively. Ende briefly joined Laaz Rocket, and later in 2004 he moved to New York City to become the drummer for the Broadway show Wicked. Adams returned to the band shortly after he left, with Bennet replaced by Tyson Leeper. The band did a short American tour, with Leeper leaving and being replaced by Paul Palmer in the process.

By 1993 the act was in a revolving door of members before splitting in 1995 only to reform again between 2005-2012. In 2005, Defiance reunited with Esquivel, Harrington, Adams and Kaufmann along with new drummer James Raymond. This incarnation of the band began working on new material, and now signed to 'Metal Mind Productions'. Metal Mind' reissued the first three albums via the Insomnia (2006) with James Raymond departing for former Vio-Lence drummer Mark Hernandez.

In November 2006, Harrington died of cancer, which he had been battling secretly for years. However, the band continued working on the new release in his honor with the resulting album, The Prophecy (2009), featuring guitar work recorded by Harrington just days before his passing. Following the release, Esquivel once again quit the band, claiming he only intended to record some material with Defiance because that was what Harrington had wanted him to do before he died. The band would recruit new singer Keven Albert and new guitarist Shawn Bozarth before disbanding again. It is important to note that during the production, Defiance recruited Burton Ortega ex-member of KAOS. The band re-formed again in 2019 under the line-up of Steev Esquivel (vocals), Jim Adams (guitars), Billy Garoutte (guitars), Mike Kaufmann (bass) and Matt Vander Ende (drums).