Defiled Premiere New Album Altered State

Defiled Premiere New Album Altered State
Japanese legends remain masters of the form
Touring Japan + dates with Brujeria
Featured by Lambgoat, New Noise + more

Defiled aren’t relics or custodians for the old-school. While the Japanese legends have shared stages with Morbid Angel, Mayhem, Cannibal Corpse and Incantation since the early ‘90s, they’ve carved their own unmistakable path through death metal’s hallowed crypts. With their new album, founding member Yusuke Sumita and his band of technical masters continue to alter the genre in unthinkable ways. On Altered State, they deliver a dizzying blast of death metal straight from the future.  

“Fourteen pinpoint brawlers in 43 tightly wound minutes evince zero body fat or DM stasis”, Decibel writes in a 7/10 review of Altered State.

“Defiled are once again pushing the boundaries of extreme music”, Metal Insider writes in a track-by-track breakdown of the band’s new album. “Rather than following the established rules of death metal, the band’s ninth studio album explores overlooked corners of the genre, blending old-school brutality with progressive rhythms, crossover thrash influences and unconventional songwriting”.

Altered State comes out today, Friday, June 12 on Season of Mist, but you can hear all 14 mind-altering songs today by listening to the full album stream on the Season of Mist YouTube channel.

“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. We invite anyone to join us in exploring the outermost edges of the genre”.

Pre-order & Pre-save https://orcd.co/defiledalteredstate

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 leftover suspicions. “Dazed in Blindness” opens the album with flurry of expert moves not taught in any rule book before lead single “Portal” opens with a reminder that the band can sharpen even traditional riffs into a series of tempo shifts that unlock another plane of existence.

“Both musically and lyrically, Altered State is an expansion of The Highest Level and Horror Beyond Horror”, Sumita explains. “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”.  

Though still influenced by sounds that came out of the underground during the ‘80s and ‘90s, Altered State delves even deeper into Defiled’s psychic perception of our warped reality. Occultists gather around the shapeshifting groove that seizes hold over “Obsession”. The band isn’t afraid to wind through the darkest and most mysterious corners of our collective consciousness. But listen closely to this album and all secrets will be revealed.

“Receive the power”, Defiled command on the album’s title track with a chaos that only they can control.

Hear Defiled perform songs from Altered State during the band’s current Japanese tour, as well as their upcoming shows with Brujeria.

Tracklist
1. Dazed in Blindness (2:59)
2. Altered State (3:05) [WATCH]
3. Obsession (3:04) [WATCH]
4. Portal (3:39) [WATCH]
5. Necro-Force (2:31)
6. The Degradation (3:51)
7. Genocidal Stage (2:27)
8. Metamorphosis of Evil (3:11)
9. The Ultra Death (2:42)
10. Zombified (2:17)
11. Lunatics (3:07)
12. Prophecies (3:29)
13. Demolition (3:25)
14. Apocalyptic End (3:25)

Origin: Tokyo, Japan
Genre: Death Metal
FFO: Atheist, Monstrosity, Cryptopsy

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

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