Japan’s unique death metal veterans, DEFILED, have delivered a whopper of an album! Don’t believe me?  Check out the video below.  As always, the constant is guitarist Yusuke Sumita, and his chaotic riffs are on full display with an excellent complimentary lineup to forge his passion for underground death metal.

After the intro, Infinite Regress opens up with the dizzying track, “Divide and Conquer” and unloads a healthy mix of grind, blasts, and discordant riffs.  DEFILED is chock full of technical parts, but not the usual guitar noodling “sweep after sweep” garbage that has infiltrated the “technical metal” subgenre these days.

The production is hearty and crisp, without sacrificing any distortion crunch or having the drums getting buried in the mix.  However, don’t think this album is just a blast fest, as “Tragedy” starts with a mid-paced slew of riffs before showing their trademark off-time riffs and maniacal vocal lines.

Some great bass lines are thrown in “Aftermath,” and DEFILED’s catchiest material to date is offered here on tracks such as “Systematic Decomposition,”  “Masses in Chaos,” and “Slaverobot.”

DEFILED is a band that takes multiple listens before appreciating the whirlwind riffs and savagery of it all, and this album is no different.  So many riffs are unleashed everywhere but somehow it all comes together nicely with different tempo changes and great drum patterns.  The band should be extremely proud of this effort, and fans of classic riffage influenced by NAPALM DEATH, TERRORIZER, CRYPTOPSY (just to name a few) should enjoy this album immensely.  Last but not least, the sick work of Wes Benscoter graces the cover and solidifies this album as a great pick up in 2020. (Season of Mist)