One of the longstanding pillars of the Japanese death metal scene, DEFILED has made its ninth studio album, Altered State, available for streaming just ahead of its official release date. With this new effort, the band aims not only to push its musical boundaries further, but also to hold a mirror up to the modern world through a bleak vision of the future.

Spanning 43 minutes across 14 tracks, the album is built around themes inspired by George Orwell’s cult dystopian novel 1984. Concepts such as surveillance societies, information manipulation, and mass conditioning form the backbone of the record, intertwined with DEFILED’s ferocious and technically driven musical approach. This time, the band delivers more than just an aggressive death metal album; it also channels the paranoia and chaos generated by the modern world into its songs.

On the musical front, DEFILED’s trademark sound remains intact while new layers emerge throughout the record. The destructive energy of old-school death metal is woven together with technical thrash riffs and progressive rock-inspired rhythmic shifts. In particular, “Portal” and “Obsession,” two of the album’s standout tracks, are cited among the compositions that best showcase the band’s intricate songwriting approach and constantly evolving sense of momentum.

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Active since 1992, the Tokyo-based outfit is regarded as one of the rare bands that has avoided repeating itself despite a career spanning several decades. Rather than adhering strictly to established Western death metal conventions, DEFILED has forged its own identity. While maintaining its prolific output through a string of recent releases, the band now looks to continue that upward trajectory with Altered State.

With the album’s release, the group has embarked on a Japanese tour and will also take the stage later this year for a series of special performances alongside legendary death/grind outfit Brujeria. Altered State is out now via Season of Mist.

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