Anti-establishment and Aggressive DÉTENTE was formed in 1984 and are now considered trailblazers. Defying any specific metal sub-genre and attracting Punks and Metal Heads alike, followers of the band still argue whether DÉTENTE belonged to Cross-over, Thrash, or simply Metal. With the line-up of Dawn Crosby, Dennis Butler, Steve Hochheiser, Ross Robinson, and Caleb Quinn the band signed to Roadrunner Records in 1985 and released Recognize No Authority to critical praise and strong sales in Europe, especially in Germany. The album was later licensed to Metal Blade for release in the USA.
With the vocals of Dawn Crosby and later the equally impressive Tiina Teal DÉTENTE brought two of the great female Metal Vocalists to the masses. Rather than exploitation, the band relied on solid musicianship, songwriting, and aggression.