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DEFILED
Horror Beyond Horror

Season Of Mist (2024)
Rating: 6.5/10

Somewhat overlooked in their chosen field of deathly metal, Tokyo, Japan-based combo Defiled continues its consistent weaving between the graves with full-length studio album number eight. Horror Beyond Horror is unleashed just a year after the solid The Highest Level which was a vast improvement on 2020 platter Infinite Regress, and this latest outing is as equally rewarding, even without the thrills which Defiled continue to shun.

Although there is a mixture of death, grind, thrash and punk, it’s all delivered in rather blunt fashion but with some thought provoking lyrics, especially on opener ‘Smoke And Mirrors’ where Shinichiro Hamada barks, “All is smoke and mirrors, the illusion of legitimacy. Slaves and masters, exploitation and governance, plausible slogans with corruption behind them”. The message is clear but encased within a rough n’ ready product whereby songs are brief enough to zap you with their intense grinding.

Defiled never hangs around for long, but the shifts are surprisingly numerous as blast beats rise to meet guttural bellows. ‘The Alchemy’ boasts a punk infusion and ‘Syndicate’ features some of the fastest percussion you’ll hear this year, but the real quality comes from the way Defiled is somehow off kilter and unorthodox in its aggression, to the point that some of the hyper blasts seem out of place. Even on the steadier ‘Trojan Horse’ the percussion continues its rampant reign, at times domineering proceedings. ‘Replicator Dynamics’ is a cool mid-tempo grinder, but again the focus is on those Keisuke Hamada drums.

The emphasis throughout is more of a grind aesthetic. However, the rather flimsy production means this release is demo level quality resulting in a fierce yet fleeting experience that needs a few listens to fully appreciate, although at times this is the musical equivalent to being cut down by machine gun fire.

Neil Arnold

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