SOLDIER – Defiant (Starhaven Records) Knowing that following ‘The Number Of The Beast’ would be an almost unmanageable task, Iron Maiden distilled that album’s best qualities, consolidated what had made its songs so popular – and so good – and came out with ‘Piece Of Mind’, an album which to many fans is actually better than its predecessor. Some thirty years later Soldier found themselves in much the same situation when it came to topping the mighty ‘Dogs Of War’. Released in 2013, ‘Dogs…’ is an album of such depth and such treasures that it would be impossible to beat in fair fight, and for a band of constant evolution like Soldier releasing ‘Dogs…’ Part II was never an option. So in ‘Defiant’ Soldier have regrouped, re-evaluated and re-defined their approach, and in doing so have come up with an album that, while sharing its predecessor’s DNA, is very much a different kind of animal altogether. Kicking things off with the imaginatively-st...