After years as one of the U.K.'s most successful unsigned acts, London modern metal mob The Defiled have signed a worldwide deal with Nuclear Blast Entertainment. The band's second album, "Daggers", will be released this summer.

To whet the appetites of fans, the first song from the album, "Sleeper", will be released via iTunes this Sunday, March 17. A lyric video for the track can be seen below.

Having released its debut album "Grave Times" via Metal Hammer magazine in 2011, The Defiled has since enjoyed status as the U.K.'s biggest unsigned metal acts. Making huge strides forward on their own, their achievements as a self motivated and independent band in the world of heavy music, which includes sold out tours, prestigious slots at the biggest festivals and a Golden God Award, is remarkable. Their unwillingness to compromise or settle for anything less than their ambition dictates has got them this far; this alliance with indie metal powerhouse Nuclear Blast Entertainment now sets the sky as the limit.

Commented The Defiled frontman Stitch D: "We're ecstatic to announce that we are signing to Nuclear Blast Entertainment. After years of being an independent band and doing everything Diy, we can't wait to have such a huge label and great team behind us to take us to the next level. It's an honor to be working with a label that have released some of our favourite bands of all time."

Added The Defiled's The AvD: "It's amazing to get the seal of approval from Nuclear Blast, all the years of barely scraping by and putting literally everything in to The Defiled have finally been recognized by the amazing team that is Mark Palmer and Monte Conner. We have wanted to work with these guys for years now and our dream is being realised. Signing to Nuclear Blast means we can now go world wide and do this thing properly, the way we have always envisioned in our heads."

Monte Conner, president of Nuclear Blast Entertainment, states: "The Defiled are real self-motivators and what they have accomplished so far all on their own is very impressive and caught my attention. With the added muscle of Nuclear Blast, they can do some serious damage this time. Most importantly, the new album is a Huge step forward in every direction. Great songwriting and violent production meld together to create something that will very forcefully imbed itself in your brain."

The Defiled will head out on the Jägermeister Music Tour next week with Ghost and Gojira.