UMUR "The Highest Level" is the seventh full-length studio album by Japanese, Tokyo based death metal act Defiled. The album was released through Season of Mist in April 2023. It´s the successor to "Infinite Regress" from January 2020 and it features the exact same quartet lineup who recorded the predeceding album. Defiled are by now one of the most prolific and dare I say legendary death metal acts from Japan, and they´ve pushed the boundaries of the genre more than once.

Stylistically the material on "The Highest Level" is technical and quite brutal death metal. Suffocation is not the worst reference, but Defiled have always had...and still have their own take on the genre. They play an interesting combination of almost hardcore punked and simple death metal and quite brutal and technical death metal, occasionally spiced up with some Voivod influenced dissonance. One of their greatest strengths is the pairing of the savage, raw, and primitive, and the more sophisticated and complex technical parts of the compositions. I struggle to remember any other death metal artists who sound like Defiled...and then again "The Highest Level" is actually their most "regular" sounding release yet, and I was initially a little disappointed that they sounded this normal. But when you dig a little deeper, "The Highest Level" still features quite a few unconventional and challenging moments, so Defiled haven´t completely forgotten what makes them stand out.

After releasing a few albums which have featured what I would deem near experimental sound production values, Defiled have now opted for a more (again) normal/standard for the genre type sound production. To some ears that´s probably a relief and an opportunity to give Defiled a chance again, if your ears weren´t able to appreciate the production oddness of the last couple of releases, but to my ears it´s a bit of a shame, as all the weirdness in regards to both the actual music, the performances, and the odd sounding production jobs of the last couple of albums, were the elements which made Defiled stand out on the death metal scene. So while "The Highest Level" is arguably another high quality death metal release from Defiled, it´s unfortunately their least interesting release in years...please bring back the weirdness. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Ugliness Revealed" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Japanese death metal act Defiled. The album was released through Baphomet Records in October 2001. It´s the successor to "Erupted Wrath" from 1999 and was recorded by the same four-piece lineup who recorded the predecessor. Although it happens more and more often that Japanese artists break through in Europe and the US it´s still a bit exotic to us (who come from those parts of the world), when it happens. Defiled are of course an underground act (the kind of music they play isn´t reaching a mainstream audience anytime soon), but they are often mentioned as a highly respected one on the international brutal technical death metal scene...

...and there´s a reason why that is. Upon initial listens "Ugliness Revealed" sounds like a lot of other chaotic sounding ultra brutal technical death metal releases, but digging a bit deeper into the details of the album, it soon becomes apparent that Defiled are unconventional and determined to do things their own way. The music features deep growling vocals, loads of abrupt tempo changes and breaks, dissonance, and a feral energi level which is quite charming. Defiled can go from a slow doomy pace, to a D-beat punked like death metal section, to playing ultra fast blastbeats in a matter of seconds (throw in some Voivod influenced dissonance and you´re halfway there). It´s not easily accessible music, and it personally took me quite a while to learn to appreciate. But it´s definitely a case of patience being rewarded.

"Ugliness Revealed" features a raw and organic sounding production, which suits the material perfectly. A more clean and sterile sound production wouldn´t have fit the material at all, and would probably have ruined the old school authenticity and raw nature of the music.

It´s the combination of the occasional old school simplicity and frenetic technical playing, which works so well for Defiled. They understand how effectful a sustained power chord or a simple D-beat type rhythm can be amidst the chaos of breaks, tempo changes, dissonance, and odd time signatures, and they use that understanding to incorporate hooks here and there (...well "hooks" is a relative term in music this brutal, so let´s just say catchy moments).

"Ugliness Revealed" features nothing but high quality tracks, but I´d like to mention a few highlights in "Uncovered Plots", which features a deranged dissonant intro riff, and "Disguised", which is the most "normal" death metal track on the album. Upon conclusion "Ugliness Revealed" is probably very much an aquired taste. If you have a low threshold for stress, the almost constant shifts in rhythms and tempo changes and the abrasive nature of the music, will probably send you screaming into an anxiety attack, but to those who can appreciate an almost mathcore approach to brutal technical death metal, "Ugliness Revealed" is your poison. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Erupted Wrath" is the debut full-length studio album by Japanese death metal act Defiled. The album was released through Bizarre Records in September 1999. "Erupted Wrath" was originally planned for release in 1997, but due to label issues, the release was delayed a couple of years. Defiled was formed in 1992 and released a demo in 1993 and the "Defeat of sanity" EP in 1994. All five tracks from the EP are also featured in re-recorded versions on "Erupted Wrath". There have been two lineup changes since the release of "Defeat of sanity (1994)", as drummer Kouji Uchida has been replaced by Naoki Akamatsu and lead vocalist Masafumi Kitamura has been replaced by Hideki Fujimoto.

The style of music played on "Erupted Wrath" is brutal technical death metal, but Defiled are one of the acts on that particular scene who manage to stand out. While all the standard elements of the genre (ultra brutal growling vocals, brutal downtuned guitar riffs, powerful drumming and loads of tempo changes) are in place on the album, there is a twist to Defiled´s music, which makes them a standout act. Maybe it´s Japan´s remote location or unique culture which have an impact on their output, but it always seems like Japanese metal acts are able to twist the conventions of the genres they play, and create their own variation of various sub-genres, and Defiled also fall under that catagory of Japanese acts.

It´s hard to explain because to the untrained ear the material on "Erupted Wrath" probably sound similar to a lot of other brutal technical death metal, but the way Defiled play and write music are charmingly unpredictable. The many tempo changes and creative guitar riffs, paired with the occasional "high in the mix" busy bass playing, are just some of the features, which provide "Erupted Wrath" with a unique sound. But they also understand how to make the most out of more "regular" death metal elements. For example the parts on the album featuring sustained guitar chords over blasting drums. It´s a simple trick used by many, but here it´s highly effective creating brutal and sinister sounding moments on the songs where they appear.

The power and passion behind the delivery are also great assets. There is a burning conviction here and a lot of skill involved, which work really well. Lead vocalist Hideki Fujimoto has a strong growling delivery and there is an aggressive edge to his vocals, which is really effectfull. "Erupted Wrath" features an organic, dark, and raw sound production, which suits the material perfectly, and upon conclusion it´s a high quality release through and through. A 4 star (80%) is fully deserved.

UMUR "Infinite Regress" is the 6th full-length studio album by Japanese, Tokyo based death metal act Defiled. The album was released through Season of Mist in January 2020. It´s the successor to "Towards Inevitable Ruin" from 2016 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as bassist Hiroaki Sato has been replaced by Takachika Nakajima.

Stylistically the material on "Infinite Regress" are unmistakably the sound of Defiled. Brutal technical US influenced death metal with a twist. The twist consists of the fact that Defiled are inherently old school and often have more in common with acts like Autopsy and early Deceased than they have with the more technical part of the early 90s death metal scene and artists like Suffocation and Gorguts. But...Defiled still play a very technical death metal style with loads of tempo changes, unconventional riffs, and a generally adventurous approach to songwriting, so the comparison above should not be misunderstood as if this isn´t music with at least some focus on technical playing.

One of the greatest strengths of "Infinite Regress" is the raw and organic way the music is delivered. These guys are human and they want you to know it. The raw, powerful, and organic sounding production job supports that sentiment too, and "Infinite Regress" is generally far removed from most of the more clinical and sterile sounding contemporary brutal technical death metal releases. Highlights include "Divide and Conquer" (the drumming is brilliant on this one), "Tragedy" (old school to the core), and "Centuries". Predominantly because those tracks stand out as a bit different from the remaining tracks, but all material on the album are of high quality.

Upon conclusion "Infinite Regress" is through and through a high quality death metal release. It´s not often you´ll come across death metal acts with a unique sound these days, but thankfully we still have artists like Defiled to prove to the world that intriguing, adventurous, and unconventional death metal is still being produced (while still maintaining old school death metal credibility). A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Towards Inevitable Ruin" is the 5th full-length studio album by Japanese, Tokyo based death metal act Defiled. The album was released through Season of Mist in July 2016. It´s been five years since the release of "In Crisis (2011)", but Defiled have seen quite a few lineup changes in those years, and guitarist Yusuke Sumita is the only member left from the lineup who recorded the predecessor. New in the lineup are Shinichiro Hamada (vocals, guitars), Hiroaki Sato (bass), and Keisuke Hamada (drums).

"In Crisis (2011)" was a pretty unique sounding brutal technical death metal album, featuring an unconventional sounding production. "Towards Inevitable Ruin" continues that tradition and again firmly places Defiled among the most distinct sounding and bold artists on that part of the death metal scene. And that´s not because they add avant garde elements or progressive ideas to their music. They experiment within the boundaries of the genre, which is often more difficult but ultimately also more elegant.

The change on the bass player position has a big impact on the band´s sound. The technical fusion styled bass playing of Haruhisa Takahata, was one of the defining elements of "In Crisis (2011)", but Hiroaki Sato has a more "regular" bass playing style. Initially I thought that would be a great loss, but somehow Defiled have found a way to work around the loss of the very busy basslines of Takahata. The music on "Towards Inevitable Ruin" simply doesn´t suffer from it, because Defiled have successfully moved focus to other parts of their music.

The music on the 12 track, 30:27 minutes long album is early 90s influenced death metal. At times it´s quite technical but other times the band play some delightfully old school hardcore punked death metal parts, and it´s all delivered with great energy and organic playing. The vocals are one-dimensionally growling, but Shinichiro Hamada has a powerful raw delivery, which suits the music well. It´s all packed in a rather unique sounding production, that might take some getting used to. Upon initial listen I found it pretty noisy, messy, and chaotic sounding (and slightly amaturish too), but giving the album more spins it all fell into place, and now I can´t imagine the music without this sound and visa versa. It´s probably an aquired taste though, and listeners who who usually prefer their technical brutal death metal with a more clear clinical sounding production, this sound production may come as a bit of a shock.

The musicianship is strong on all posts and the many brutal riffs and growling vocals are complimented well by the organic playing rhythm section. Especially drummer Keisuke Hamada deserves a mention for his wild playing and semi-improvised style. Sometimes it sounds like he is making his rhythm patterns and fills up on the spot, and that approach provides the music with great authenticity and organic energy. So upon conclusion "Towards Inevitable Ruin" is a relatively unique sounding death metal release. Defiled´s anarchistic and greatly creative approach to the genre is admirable and makes them stand out on a scene which is over populated by unremarkable artists who wouldn´t know the meaning of the word "original" even if it came up and bit them in the ass. A 4.5 star (90%) rating is deserved.