Defiled Announce Dizzying Ninth Album Altered State
Japanese death metal legends unlock a head-banging new dimension on lead single “Portal”
Touring Japan this summer + dates with Mayhem and Incantation
Having been active practitioners since 1992, Defiled are masters of the vile art known as death metal. The Tokyo legends have shared the stage with Morbid Angel, Mayhem, Cannibal Corpse and Incantation. However, these grizzled veterans are neither relics nor custodians for the old-school. Their upcoming new album, Altered State, unleashes a dizzying blast of death metal straight from the future.
Today, Defiled are announcing their new album, Altered State, with a music video for its lead single. By continuing to take the genre in unexpected directions, on “Portal”, the band unlock a head-banging new dimension.
“Altered State is an expansion of our last two albums, The Highest Level and Horror Beyond Horror”, Defiled founding member and guitarist Yusuke Sumita says. “Like many other bands, our musical roots are heavily influenced by early ‘90s death metal and ‘80s thrash and hardcore, however our interpretation is different and has branched off from the current scene. On Altered State, there are many catchy hooks, but tricky progressive rhythms and song structures can be found as well. The album may not be understandable after a few listens but it taps into a blind spot that many bands have missed”.
Watch the music video for “Portal” on the Season of Mist YouTube channel.
Altered State comes out June 12, 2026 on Season of Mist.
Pre-order & Pre-save
https://orcd.co/defiledalteredstate
CD Digipack
12” Vinyl Gatefold (Black)
12” Vinyl Gatefold (Transparent Yellowish-Green)
After hearing them pound out three albums in four years, metalheads would be forgiven for assuming Defiled had reached the highest level, that there were no horrors left for them to reveal. Altered State quickly quiets any further foolish suspicions. “Portal” opens with Sumita and fellow axesmith Shinichiro Hamada shredding through a traditional assortment of dirty and demonic riffs, only for the rhythm section of bassist Takachika Nakajima and drummer Keisuke Hamada to break into a series of tempo shifts that prove more elusive than the truth. While the band are still guided by the underground spirit, the new single from their upcoming album delves deeper into their psychic perception of our warped reality.
“Perpetual hell awaits”, Shinichiro Hamada growls. With one last sharp twist, he and his bandmates ascend to a higher plane of death metal existence.
Hear “Portal” and other songs from Altered State during Defiled’s Japanese summer tour, as well as their upcoming shows with Mayhem and Incantation.
Defiled 2026 Spring Shows
April 8 – Osaka, Japan @ Big Cat with Mayhem
April 26 – Tokyo, Japan @ Classix
Defiled 2026 Altered State Japanese Tour
June 9 – Tokyo @ Holiday with Incantation
June 10 – Yokohama @ El Puente
June 11 – Fussa @ Chicken Shack
June 12 – Tokyo @ Earthdom
June 13 – Fukushima @ Sora
June 13 – Sendai @ Solfa
June 14 – Aizuwakamatsu @ Karando
June 14 – Niigata @ Rocka
June 15 – Nagano @ Rosebery Cafe
June 16 – Kofu @ Bodega
June 17 – Iida @ Space Tama
June 18 – Nagoya @ Studio 246
June 19 – Osaka @ Hokage
June 20 – Okayama @ Dogvult
June 20 – Hiroshima @ Agit
June 21 – Fukuoka @ Reflex
June 21 – Sasebo @ Distortion
June 22 – Mabi @ Branch
The video for Portal was created by Seaside99works.
Tracklist
Apocalyptic End (3:25)
Dazed in Blindness (2:59)
Altered State (3:05)
Obsession (3:04)
Portal (3:39) [WATCH]
Necro-Force (2:31)
The Degradation (3:51)
Genocidal Stage (2:27)
Metamorphosis of Evil (3:11)
The Ultra Death (2:42)
Zombified (2:17)
Lunatics (3:07)
Prophecies (3:29)
Demolition (3:25)
Origin: Tokyo, Japan
Genre: Death Metal
FFO: Atheist, Monstrosity, Cryptopsy
Artwork by Wes Benscoter
Defiled truly are their own island. While active since 1992, during death metal’s golden era, the Tokyo legends are neither relics nor custodians for the old-school. They do not follow Western traditions. They cannot be reduced to tokens like kimonos or samurai. Like the Japanese salamander, they continue to evolve in isolation, free from passing trends. Founding member and guitarist Yusuke Sumita and his band of warriors remain masters of the form, but their upcoming ninth album bears only a passing resemblance to the genre’s past or present. On Altered State, Defiled unleash a dizzying blast of death metal straight from the future.
“Like many other bands, our musical roots are heavily influenced by early ‘90s death metal and ‘80s thrash and hardcore, however, our interpretation is different and has branched off from the current scene”, Sumita says. “On Altered State, there are many catchy hooks, but tricky progressive rhythms and song structures can be found as well. The album may not be understandable after a few listens, but it taps into a blind spot that many bands have missed”.
Though they’re indifferent to scenes within the larger world of metal, Defiled’s presence has spread far and wide for more than three decades. The band’s 1994 debut EP, Defeat of Sanity, quickly proved prescient after inspiring the name of their future Season of Mist labelmates Defeated Sanity. Their first three full-lengths – Erupted Wrath (1999), Ugliness Revealed (2001) and Divination (2003) – were all mixed by none other than the legend himself, Jim Morris, at Morrisound Studios in Tampa, Florida. Early success set them upon a war path through the Japanese underground and onto the international stage. Defiled ransacked Milwaukee Metal Festival and banged heads with Morbid Angel, Mayhem, Cannibal Corpse and Incantation.
Since signing with Season of Mist in 2003, Defiled have shown no sign of slowing down. Despite enduring some changes between 2011’s In Crisis and 2016’s Towards Inevitable Ruin, the personnel around Sumita is now locked in with Keisuke Hamada pounding on drums, Takachika Nakajima nailing down bass and Shinichiro Hamada handling both guitars and vocals. Starting with Infinite Regress in 2020, this lineup is currently riding a seemingly endless hot streak. After reaching The Highest Level in 2023, they topped themselves once more with 2024’s Horror Beyond Horror.
“Horror Beyond Horror again finds Defiled stuck on the upswing”, Decibel wrote in an 8/10 review. “With their eighth studio album since 1992, the Tokyo death metal longhairs’ third pandemic-era disc completes a four-year hothouse of peak ability, creativity and volatility”.
Metalheads can be forgiven for assuming Defiled had already reached peak shredding, that there were no horrors left for them to reveal. But Altered State quickly quiets any leftover suspicions. Lead single “Portal” opens with a reminder that this band can sharpen even traditional riffs before breaking into a series of tempo shifts that unlock another plane of existence. Though still influenced by sounds that came from the underground, the album delves even deeper into their psychic perception of our warped reality with a twist of inspiration from Stravinsky. Occultists gather around the shapeshifting groove that seizes hold over “Obsession”.
“Both musically and lyrically, Altered State is an expansion of The Highest Level and Horror Beyond Horror”, Sumita says. “The music is a combination of old-school death metal, technical-thrash riffs and the rhythmic changes of progressive rock. The lyrics are based on the dystopian world presented in George Orwell’s science-fiction masterpiece 1984. They express the madness that everyone living in the present currently feels”.
Altered State isn’t afraid to wind through the darkest and most mysterious corners of our collective consciousness. But listen closely to Defiled and all secrets will be revealed. “Receive the power”, the band command on the album’s title track with a chaos that only they can control.
Lineup
Shinichiro Hamada – Vocals, Guitar
Yusuke Sumita – Guitar
Takachika Nakajima – Bass
Keisuke Hamada – Drums
Production credits
Recorded at Studio Zot in Tokyo, Japan
Producer – Yusuke Sumita
Sound Engineers – Shinichiro Hamada and Keisuke Hamada
Mixing and Mastering Studio – Studio Nest in Chiba, Japan
Mixing and Mastering Engineer – Kenji Kikuchi
Songwriting credits
Music and lyrics by Yusuke Sumita
Cover art
Wes Benscoter
Booking contact
Yusuke Sumita – info@defiled.info
Pre-order & Pre-save
https://orcd.co/defiledalteredstate
Available formats
CD Digipack
12″ Vinyl Gatefold (Black)
12″ Vinyl Gatefold (Transparent Yellowish-Green)
Follow Defiled
Website : http://www.defiled.info/
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/defiled
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/defiledjapan
Bandcamp : https://defiledjapan.bandcamp.com
Soundcloud : https://soundcloud.com/defiled
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@defiled
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6KDc0SB4ero6zAgrafjVrt
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/defiled/72867298
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/music/player/artists/B001GJ407S/defiled
