With album artwork that looks like Job For A Cowboy meets a color run, the latest chapter in the death-metal saga of Defiled’s career is no less domineering or pounding than anything else the Tokyo-based band has delivered during their multi-decade existence.

The Highest Level is the group’s newest release under the Season Of Mist banner. The record bursts at the seams with fifteen tracks that take nearly forty-five minutes to consume, but it hardly feels like a hindrance. Shinichiro Hamada possesses the cadence and thoughtfulness of a well-oiled vocalist deeply entrenched in the death metal of yore.

Keisuke Hamada does their part behind the kit by laying down out-of-control drums (‘Off-Limits’) which paradoxically brings order to this album’s chaos. With bloated vocals and lyrics delivered like they were last rites, The Highest Level at times musters an intensity that frankly challenges the fabric of spacetime.

Yusuke Sumita and Takachika Nakajima complete Defiled’s riff section with guitars and bass, respectively. 

A disdain for authority and the status quo is the prevailing theme when paying attention to the lyrics. Hamada states “injustice breeds corruption” (‘Red World’); “in politics, nothing is by accident” (‘The Speech’); and “war is a business” (“Warmonger”). Yet even without that fuck-the-system mystique, Defiled boasts a pompous, unrelenting cavalcade of punishment and decimation.

It’s understandable to a degree if a fifteen-track death metal record puts off some listeners. But a proper sit down with The Highest Level is rewarding. The one-two punch of tight musicianship and an inclination to pummel into submission without the need for flashy antics makes for a dazzling experience. 

Think of this album as one which, to the uninitiated, can act as a catalyst for a deeper dive into the exhaustive discography. 

Buy the album here:

https://shopusa.season-of-mist.com/band/defiled

7 / 10

MATT COOK