Out of all the underground scenes to be had across the world that are burgeoning with talent, the Asian realms tend to be underrated for one reason or another. We all know just how much the European and American scenes have influenced the underground many times over, but it’s oftentimes those within Asia that are more than capable of delivering high caliber excellence despite not many giving those acts the credit they deserve. Out of Japan, there’s been a name that has been rising for decades now with its reputation all but cemented to the very DNA of the Japanese scene. Now, Defiled returns for its third album in four years to show us yet again why they’re undeniable icons of their realm.

The language of death metal is simply universal. No matter what culture you grew up in no matter what part of the world you may have been born into, death metal has an allure and an infectious nature the likes of which anyone can decode so long as they surrender themselves wholly unto its unholiest of tendencies. Anyone even slightly familiar with Defiled would know that these death metal connoisseurs have become truly synonymous with what it means for Japan to bring ultimate glory to the sound. Even after toiling away for decades to show us what they can still do after all this time, a work like “Horror Beyond Horror” is but all fitting and expected from such a revered and long-established name. Death metal with real bounce the likes of which we simply do not see often enough, it’s throughout the entirety of these fourteen tracks that Defiled gives us an experience of old school death metal with a new flesh suit the likes of which many seek to ascertain in many different corners of the underground with extremely few able to come even close to what we can bear witness to here. A ferocious experience from top to bottom that holds nothing back and is death metal immaculate, “Horror Beyond Horror” constantly and consistently lives up to its name.

It would be understandable if a band that’s stuck around as long as Defiled would find themselves on any sort of decline as the years pile on, but Defiled manages to defy expectations and continuously show us that there’s a reason they’ve been at the top of the food chain of Japanese death metal for quite some time virtually without exception. Where decay and murder are to be found, “Horror Beyond Horror” is sure to be the soundtrack to such macabre events.

“Horror Beyond Horror” releases on September 20th via Season of Mist!

LISTEN to advanced tracks from “Horror Beyond Horror” on Bandcamp here.

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