Defiled is a grizzled veteran of the death metal scene having released its first demo 31 years ago. As usual, there’s an extensive paper trail here at AMG that provides context for Defiled’s oeuvre (as well as evidence for any future litigation). Over their storied career, they’ve been reviewed on this site three times by three different writers, and the results have been inconsistent. While their 2011 effort In Crisis received a glowing review from the Angry Metal Guy himself, 2016’s Towards Inevitable Ruin and 2020’s Infinite Regress resulted in less-than-stellar write-ups, with issues ranging from production quality to humdrum songwriting. So here I sit, the fourth writer to take The Defiled Challenge, this time with their eighth album Horror beyond Horror. Are these genre stalwarts finally destined for a return to form?

While they’re billed as a death metal act, I’d classify Defiled’s latest effort as technical thrash, with doses of OSDM and more hardcore punk than I was expecting. They say as much in the promo material, referring to themselves as the “indestructible behemoth” of the Japanese scene, with “old school roots” and drive by “the twisted wreckage of technical thrash and progressive rock innovation.” This is a pretty accurate assessment, as there are plenty of examples of these genres all over Horror beyond Horror. However, I think I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention the Ulcerate-esque levels of dissonance or the injection of hardcore into what was already a heady mix. The result? A brief, brash album that succeeds in grabbing your attention in the moment but ultimately fails to remain memorable from track to track.

I had a lot of fun listening to Horror beyond Horror, and I bobbed my head and grimaced in delight throughout its 41 minutes. But once it ended, I realized I couldn’t recall much of anything beyond vague impressions of intermingled songs, a conclusion that held even after multiple spins. The opening track “S**ke and Mirrors” immediately delivers the dissonance, along with the first of many tastes of brutish, sneering punk. By the third track “Syndicate,” however, all the progressive, hardcore, thrash, and death influences can’t hide the fact that individual tunes run together. Case(s) in point: “Demagogue” delivers a killer guitar solo I can only describe as “wirey,” while “Spectrum of Fear” boasts a big, thick death metal riff; “The Crook and the Flail” features synths that lend the song a welcome, ominous atmosphere and it’s impossible not to enjoy the scratchy, gnarly guitar tone on “Replicator Dynamics.” Each of these moments is standout, but appearing as they do amidst a sea of fun yet forgettable tunes, their impact, and the impact of the album as a whole, is blunted as a result.

As with previous albums, Defiled’s production decisions undermine Horror beyond Horror as a whole. Shinichiro Hamada has a solid thrashy bark, but his vocals are so startlingly high in the mix that it’s often hard to focus on anything else. Similarly, while frenetic drummer Keisuke Hamada delivers my favorite performance on the album, the percussion is mixed so loud that the vocals and the drums often feel like they’re competing for attention, leaving the guitar, and to a greater extent the bass, to toil away in muddy obscurity. The final nail in Horror beyond Horror’s coffin, though, is the nagging impression that the vocals never fully mesh with the music. It’s as if the two were intentionally recorded in separate studios and then combined, months later, by a disinterested sound technician. That’s certainly not the case, but such hyperbole is just indicative of the disjointed nature of Defiled’s eighth outing.

I was excited to review Horror beyond Horror, and even after delivering a low score, I still contend that it’s a fun record. But after the album’s final, abrupt note, I come away with very little to show for my experience, and that’s a disappointment. I would suggest Horror beyond Horror is an album best consumed not as a work with distinct tracks, but instead as a long, highly technical, largely imperfect tune. It won’t change any of the significant missteps, but it will improve the overall experience. I still believe Defiled has the raw potential for another 4.0, and I hope that whoever reviews their next release has the honor of doling out such a score.