Stephen Defcon's career started way back in the late 80s where they managed to record some songs but unable to get a proper contract from any label until Retrospect discovered them and release their demos collection in 2006. Hailing from Chicago, Defcon played a ballsy hard rock with spectacular shreds and a slight melodic touch to sweeten the sound. If you're familiar with Whitesnake, King Kobra, Skid Row, or XYZ, then Defcon's music is pretty much comparable to all of them.

The album was opened with "How Close", a fine all-round melodic metal and if this song was released widely in 1989, Defcon's name was probably spread all over America. Tony Artino provided a lethal solo here, the way he shred is just madness. "Rock Me" rolled with a funky scent, driven by some bluesy touch, this is a good track but not as great as "Cold Hearted" or "Hard Loud and Heavy". Mark Matthews' killer voice can turn some heads around, think of Sebastian Bach and Terry Ilous in the mix. Check out the epic track, "My Time To Fly", this is where he shines the most. Another big tracks to love here is the Whitesnake influenced ballad, "Time Waits"; the splendid Bon Jovi driven melodic rock of "Into The Night"; and the Dokken/Skid Row slap of "Don't Stop The Lovin".

This album is not without fillers, I spotted some decent throwable songs like "Never Too Far Away", Matthews over-scream a lot in this average song. "All Night Long" and "One Last Time" aren't that great either and I'll still be happy if those songs were left out. The production is quite good considering it's old demos unearthed from their basement. All in all, this is a very good release with most of the songs are in excellent shape and judging by the quality of talents the band possessed, it's a shame they didn't make it big in the heyday.