Review: Defiled’s Horror Beyond Horror Is Rough Around the Edges But Shows a Lot of Promise

There are a multitude of factors that can come together to create a great death metal album, and each one has its own distinct role to play. There are, of course, universal musts like a massive guitar tone, fast drums, macabre imagery, and an ever-present sense of menace. But then again, there is also endless magic to be found amongst the subtleties. Even the simplest of riffs can be elevated when played with the right tone and swagger, but a truly skilled musician finds clever and unexpected ways to fill in the gaps, or even create new ones, which keeps the audience on their toes as they try to guess what will happen next.

It should come as no surprise, then, that Japan has produced a slew of extremely talented musicians and some pretty cool metal bands over the years, given that their culture has always been heavily steeped in art. The Tokyo-based death metal band Defiled have been holding it down and cranking out material since the mid-Nineties, and their eighth studio album Horror Beyond Horror contains lots of really interesting ideas… if you can hear them.

Another important factor to consider when putting out an album of any kind is the final mix. It’s a delicate balance, and a frequent, sometimes contentious point of debate among many a recording artist. All of the instruments need to be featured prominently without overshadowing everything else, and the slightest tweak in the wrong direction has the potential to throw a monkey wrench into the whole thing. Unfortunately, this is the exact situation that this particular album has found itself in. At some point, a decision was made in the studio to crank the drums and the vocals way the hell up, but sadly the guitars were not shown the same love and end up trailing far behind.

The very first song “Smoke and Mirrors” hits the ground running and launches right into the blast beats too, which just makes the disparity in the mix stand out immediately as it gives the listener no time to acclimate whatsoever. The only thing you can hear at first is an oppressive barrage of heavily compressed snare and ride cymbal, with the guitars almost feeling like an afterthought, which is too bad because the creepy atonal riff that’s hiding in there somewhere is actually pretty cool. At first I thought it was just the drums that were turned up too high, but then Shinichiro Hamada’s vocals kicked in (which are solid by the way, the dude’s got a good mid-range voice that fits the vibe of the music very well), and I couldn’t help but notice that he wasn’t getting crowded out nearly as bad. In fact, he wasn’t at all. I realized the vocals and drums are synced up just fine, but for the life of me, I could barely hear the damn guitars.

It’s a shame too, because there’s a lot of out-out-the-box thinking on display across the board in terms of syncopation, upbeat accentuation, and slightly unorthodox but fluid transitions. Everything these guys are playing is exciting and tightly executed, with elements of thrash, a little punk, and blistering death metal all tastefully interwoven in a way that would have a lot more of an impact if the pronounced lack of balance between the levels didn’t make it a chore to sit through at times. These guys are clearly good at what they do, but another day or two spent on the mixing and mastering process would have gone a long way toward helping this album reach its full potential.

But anyway, enough about the unpleasant part. Instead, let’s focus on what Horror Beyond Horror does have going for it, which is quite a bit. If you can look past the awkwardness of the mix, then there is some serious musicianship to be found, especially from drummer Keisuke Hamada. It’s hard to ignore him since he’s very much in the forefront at all times, but at least the stuff that he’s playing is pretty badass. He’s fast, tight, and not afraid to add a little unexpected flair when the occasion calls for it, particularly in songs like “Demagogue” (my personal favorite), “Trojan Horse”, and “Psychopomp”.

If you do have the patience to eventually acclimate to the mix, you’ll notice that none of the songs sound the same, with each track having its own unique sense of flow. And also, when the occasional solo does pop up, thankfully the high notes do cut through the rest of the din and are much easier to hear, which is simultaneously a breath of fresh air and a bit of a tease, because it makes you wish you could hear the actual riffs that clearly. This album pays homage to just about the entire spectrum of early death metal at one point or another, while also peppering in a marked unpredictability to make it even more palatable for modern audiences. It’s all very smartly written, and I’m sure it would sound monstrous in a live setting.

They say that patience is a virtue, and that sentiment rings true with this album. It’s a diamond in the rough, one that feels incomplete on a surface level but still has a lot to offer if you can look past the imperfections and make an effort to ride it out. It takes some getting used to, but there is still plenty of fun to be had for those with the inclination to look for it. It ain’t perfect, but it definitely doesn’t suck, either. It just could have used about ten more minutes in the oven, that’s all I’m saying.

Horror Beyond Horror comes out today via Season of Mist Records. Order your copy here

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