| DEFILED Hone Their Legacy on Horror Beyond Horror |
| Death metal masters now touring their new album throughout Japan |
| “‘Horror Beyond Horror’ again finds Defiled stuck on the upswing” – Decibel |
For the past three decades, DEFILED have kept their blade sharp. Ever since Tokyo’s underground lost their minds over the band’s grotesque arsenal of finishing moves, Yusuke Sumita and his death metal samurai set off on a war path that’s left nothing but inevitable ruin in their raw wake. They’ve ransacked Milwaukee Metal Festival and joined forces with their fellow legends in Mayhem, Incantation, Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corpse.
Having now churned out three albums in almost as many years, metalheads can be forgiven for believing that Defiled had already reached the highest level. But the Japanese legends have topped themselves again on their eighth album. Horror Beyond Horror comes out this Friday, September 20, but you can hear all 14 slicing and dicing songs today by listening to the full album stream on Season of Mist’s YouTube channel.
Listen to Horror Beyond Horror here:
Pre-order & Pre-save:https://orcd.co/defiledhorrorbeyondhorror
After they first took to the stage in 1995, Defiled needed nearly a decade before finally erupting with wrath on their debut album. But ever since the band’s lineup solidified around original member Yusuke Sumita, they haven’t stopped to look back and admire all the ugliness they’ve revealed. Horror Beyond Horror comes hot on the heels of the album they released just last year, which Metal Injection listed as one of the can’t-miss releases of 2023.
Like a poisonous dart, Defiled come shooting out of the shadows on Horror Beyond Horror. Blast beats pummel at unforeseen angles amidst “Smoke and Mirrors”. “Every lie has been revealed”, fearless frontman Shinichiro Hamada shouts, taking aim at perpetual frauds and tyrannical technocrats. The band charges into the pit behind bassist Takachika Nakajima’s greasy groove, which is snapping plenty of necks on their current Japanese tour.
“We wanted this album to be natural and realistic”, Sumita told New Noise. “We did not use any editing or artificial techniques in the recording process”.
With 30 years and eight albums under their belt, Defiled know where to stick the blade on Horror Beyond Horror. The album’s title track shreds through the corrupted torment of mind control with riffs that are honed from the jagged influence of ’80s thrash and hardcore. “The time has come”, the band spit at their captors with utter disgust. “Death strikes you with derision”.
Defiled aren’t afraid to crack open people’s skulls, either. Horror Beyond Horror descends deeper and deeper into the psychological shadows the further you go down the track list. “Syndicate” conspires around a greasy, pit-dwelling breakdown but drummer Keisuke Hamada never stops chopping up the tempo. “The path to your elimination”, Shinichiro Hamada cries, digging in amidst a flurry of blast beats during the album’s final boss “To See Behind the Wall”. Whether they’re slicing, dicing or leaping into a furiously fast solo, the band’s riffs take no prisoners.
“We still love death metal and are very proud to be recognized as a death metal band”, Sumita tells Antichrist Magazine. “At the same time, it’s clear from our songs that we do not follow trends. Who would be interested in a Japanese bands that follows Western trends? We have our own perspective, and we have been going our own way for many years now, and we are convinced that we are on the right path”.
On Horror Beyond Horror, Defiled unleash the kind of old-school ass-kicking that only true masters can deliver.
More praise for Defiled
“The one-two punch of tight musicianship and an inclination to pummel into submission without the need for flashy antics makes for a dazzling experience” – Ghost Cult
“It’s phenomenal what they’ve done and can do in the realm of death metal” – Distorted Sound
“Encapsulates both the oldschool familiarity and the modern aesthetics of death metal” –Metal Trenches
“By the time you’ve become deep within the album, you’ll be wondering just what else they can possibly jut up when they’ve already hit you ten or eleven times already with completely unique songwriting” – The Razor’s Edge
In customary fashion, this fall, Defiled are welcoming Horror Beyond Horror with a tour of Japan. Watch these legends shred through “Horror Beyond Horror”, “Smoke and Mirrors”, “To See Beyond the Wall”, “Syndicate” and other nasty rippers off their new album for the very first time.
The band also have two very special shows planned for later this year. In November, they’ll bang heads with fans in Bangkok alongside Batushka and Malevolent Creation. Then, to cap off what’s already shaping up to be another gloriously hellish year in their 30-year history, Defiled will share the stage with Hellchild and Satanic Hell Slaughter in a joint celebration of Japan’s historic death metal scene.
“As a Japanese death metal band, we wanted to reflect on where our scene started”, says Yusuke Sumita, who’s been Defiled’s guitarist since the band started in 1992. “Hellchild and Satanic Hell Slaughter are legends who built the Japanese death metal scene in the early ’90s. We are honored to have them return to share the stage with us. We want the young Japanese metalheads to come to this show. Don’t miss it”.
Horror Beyond Horror Japanese Tour 2024:
September 13 – Okayama @ Digvuilt
September 14 – Hiroshima @ Leo
September 15 – Karatsu @ Yggdrasil
September 16 – Fukuoka @ reflex
September 20 – Osaka @ Hokage
September 21 – Hikone @ Benihana
September 22 – Nagoya @ Studio 246
September 23 – Tokyo @ Earthdom
September 24 – Yokohama @ El Puente
September 25 – Fussa @ Chicken Shack
September 26 – Utsunomiya @ Beat Club
September 27 – Nagano @ Rosebery Cafe
September 28 – Niigata @ Rocka
September 29 – Sendai @ Solfa
September 30 – Fukushima @ 559
October 25 – Kofu @ Kazoo Hall
October 26 – Tokyo @ Earthdom
October 27 – Matsudo @ Dugout 2
Defiled Live in Bangkokwith Batushka + Malevolent Creation:
November 29 – Bangkok, Thailand @ Mr. Fox Livehouse
Defiled Live in Tokyo with Hellchild + Satanic Hell Slaughter:
December 8 – Tokyo, Japan @ Earthdom
Tracklist:1. Smoke and Mirrors (2:35) [WATCH]
2. Horror Beyond Horror (4:01) [WATCH]
3. Syndicate (3:59)
4. The Alchemy (2:47)
5. Demagogue (2:13)
6. The Terminal Phase (2:18)
7. Trojan Horse (2:35)
8. Spectrum of Fear (2:30)
9. The Crook and Flail (3:08)
10. Replicator Dynamics (2:42)
11. Equinox (3:04)
12. The Chains (3:16)
13. Psychopomp (3:14)
14. To See Behind The Wall (2:45) [WATCH]
Total runtime: 41:08
| From the depths of Tokyo’s darkest alleys, Defiled have emerged once again, claws sharpened, eyes bloodshot, ready to unleash a fresh dose of unadulterated savagery with their latest full-length studio album, Horror Beyond Horror. Marrying the grotesque with technical prowess, these samurais of sickness are poised to carve another notch into the archives of death metal’s sordid history. Since crawling from the primordial soup of the underground scene in the early ’90s, Defiled have forged a path littered with broken souls. Their journey of destruction first sank its teeth into the international jugular with Erupted Wrath, mixed by the masterful Jim Morris in Tampa, Florida. This brutal assault opened gates to a global bloodletting, from leveling stages in South Korea to crushing skulls at the Milwaukee Metalfest, and not even the November to Dismember fest could foresee the carnage they’d bring. Commandeering the technical tightrope between anarchy and precision, Defiled evolved, much like an aberrant spawn isolated on the Galapagos, grotesque yet ultimately superior. Their subsequent onslaughts — Ugliness Revealed, Divination, and the sheer violence of In Crisis — built a monument to atrocity that ascends to new heights with Horror Beyond Horror. Taking no prisoners in their three-decades-long campaign of terror, Defiled have become the indestructible behemoth of Asia’s death metal scene, powered by the relentless engine of their oldschool roots and the twisted wreckage of technical thrash and progressive rock innovation. But enough with the history lesson, you came here for the carnage, didn’t you? Horror Beyond Horror is a 14-track massacre, riddled with riffs sharp enough to slit your throat and a rhythmic onslaught that’ll pulverize your pathetic bones. Each track, from the visceral “Smoke and Mirrors” to the haunting “To See Behind the Wall”, is a calculated strike, precision-engineered to leave no survivors. Let’s not forget the eponymous “Horror Beyond Horror”, a track that cements Defiled’s legacy as harbingers of the apocalypse. With a sound as raw as exposed nerve endings and as unrefined as a mass grave, Defiled stands defiantly apart from the polished poseurs and shameless sellouts. They don’t peddle in cheap gimmickry or nostalgia; they deal in the currency of pure, unfiltered destruction. As they look out upon the charred landscape of the genre they’ve helped to define, Defiled is not content to rest on their laurels. Horror Beyond Horror sees them, once again, ascending to the blood-soaked throne of death metal sovereignty. Lineup: Shinichiro Hamada – Vocals, Guitar Yusuke Sumita – Guitar Takachika Nakajima – Bass Keisuke Hamada – Drums Recording Studio: Studio Zot, Tokyo, Japan Production Credits: Sound Engineers – Shinichiro Hamada & Keisuke Hamada Produced by Yusuke Sumita Mixed & Mastered by Kenji Kikuchi at Studio Nest, Chiba, Japan Biography: Defiled, with edits by Sébastien Gamez Cover Art: Wes Benscoter Photographer: Shigenori Ishikawa Pre-save & Pre-order: https://orcd.co/defiledhorrorbeyondhorror Available Formats: Digital Download CD Digipack 12″ Vinyl Colored (Crystal Clear & Transparent 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 |