Interview with DEFILED

Hi! What’s the story or inspiration behind “Horror Beyond Horror” album title, and how does it reflect the vibe of the album?
Hi there. First, let me introduce myself. My name is Yusuke Sumita, the founder and guitarist of the band, and for those of you who are new to us, DEFILED was formed in Tokyo in April 1992 and has released 8 full-length albums so far. Regarding our new album, the album title is a cynical irony on the situation of the world in 2024. The album is wrapped around our own thoughts regarding social issues and other chaos, but it can also be taken simply as a horror-themed metal album. Musically, the album can be categorized as Death Metal, but we tried to create a dark and bizarre texture in an atypical way. Whether you find it fun or boring is up to you.

How has living in Tokyo influenced the sound and themes of “Horror Beyond Horror”?
We have no idea about that. We don’t think that living in Tokyo has any particular influence on our sound. We think that who writes the songs is more important than where we live. Even if I and my bandmates moved to the US, we don’t think our sound and themes would change. Although our English might be more fluent than it is now. hahaha.

You’ve been doing music for over 30 years. How has your approach to making music changed since you first started?
The music production environment has changed dramatically over the last 30 years as DTM technology has evolved and we have much more control over our own production. It has become more convenient in many ways. But our approach to making music has not changed much. Everything is built in my brain, jammed and arranged in the rehearsal studio with our bandmates, and while we could use DTM to create the details ourselves, we don’t. I use my brain to enhance the inspiration and create the music. We stick to the process. It may be outdated and inefficient, but we enjoy it.

What inspired you to explore psychological horror themes?
Actually, we are not really into psychological horror themes. As you can see from our lyrics, it is more of a metaphorical representation of social issues. There is also a certain irony in the world today. We know it’s been going on for a long time, but especially after the pandemic and the Ukraine war, we feel like it’s a crazy and dark time. Although information is censored and controlled, political corruption, social injustice, absurdity, violence, intrigue, human greed and darkness have been exposed. And the deception of the mass media that desperately tries to hide it. We have had enough of in these crazy days. We are very cynical, but we do not want to hurt anyone with our lyrics. We just thought that our sighs could be shared with people all over the world.

You’ve always mixed in elements of technical thrash and progressive rock. How did those influences come through on “Horror Beyond Horror”?
We have not analyzed our own sound in detail, but we are sure that there are influences from these genres. However, these influences came naturally and unconsciously rather than consciously and intentionally. Although we are considered a death metal band, we are influenced by genres other than death metal. We like to mix those elements into the death metal in a natural way.

Every album comes with its own set of challenges. What were some of the toughest parts about putting “Horror Beyond Horror” together?
There was nothing difficult for us. I just naturally found the inspiration that came to me and we turned it into our songs. Our musical challenge is exactly what we wanted to do freely, without being bound to death metal. Of course we know that we are categorized as a death metal band. But we are not bound to that too much. And the whole process was fun and natural. So there were no difficulties at all for us.

You’ve been a major part of the death metal scene for a long time. How do you stay relevant and keep your music fresh after all these years?
We still love death metal and we are very proud to be recognized as a death metal band. At the same time, it is clear from our songs that we do not follow trends. Who would be interested in a Japanese band that follows western trends? We have our own perspective, and we have been going our own way for many years now, and we are convinced that we are on the right path.

Looking back at “Erupted Wrath”, how do you think your debut album helped shape DEFILED’s identity and sound?
“Erupted Wrath” was, in our opinion, one of the most important albums we presented to the roots of our sound. A quarter of a century has passed since then and of course we have grown and changed. But we still listen to it from time to time to remember our roots. When we listen to it now, we are still proud of it, even though some of the compositions were not mature enough. We are still here today because of that past. Continuity has made us who we are today.

How do you keep your songwriting interesting and impactful with each new album?
We only focus on our own musical interests and shut everything else out. We don’t care what other bands are doing or what most of our fans like. There is no end to trends. There are a lot of bands doing that and the fans who like that will follow those bands. We don’t feel the need to be one of them. The key to the fun I found in songwriting is remembering the musical excitement of my youth. We reassemble it with the knowledge and experience we have today. It is similar to the feeling of nostalgically picking up a toy you played with as a child. But I don’t write music based on nostalgia alone. We believe that by combining these elements with the updates, we are trying to create our own music.

You’ve played at some legendary festivals, like Milwaukee Metalfest. Is there one live show that really stands out to you as a defining moment for the band?
The Milwaukee Metal Festival you mentioned was definitely one of our highlights. It was a great opportunity to play a legendary festival several times. We had the opportunity to tour the US with INCANTATION for 3 weeks in 1998, courtesy of John McEntee, and also our US debut in Tampa, Florida in 1997, put together by Lee Harrison of MONSTROSITY. We opened for both MONSTROSITY and ANGEL CORPSE. We saw George Fisher of CANNIBAL CORPSE and Pete Sandoval of MORBID ANGEL on the floor at that show and it was great to see the friendship and strong ties in the US scene. We just want to thank them all.

How do you find the right balance between staying true to your roots and trying new things?
This is true not only for us, but for most artists. Musical challenges for something new are necessary if we want to stay creative. In our case, we have our own style and aesthetic, and we try the challenges according to that style and aesthetic. It would be boring if we were to stick to our roots and just copy the same old templates over and over again. But we think it is important to be consistent with our past work, even as we take on new challenges. It is like connecting the dots to make a clean line.

When people listen to “Horror Beyond Horror,” what do you hope they walk away feeling or thinking, both musically and thematically?
Musically and thematically our thoughts are clear in our album. We leave it up to you. We do not want to force our thoughts on you. We would be happy if each of you could take them as you wish.

You’ve seen the death metal scene evolve over the years. Where do you think the genre is heading, and what role do you see DEFILED playing in its future? Thank you for your time!
More than 30 years have passed since death metal genre has started and it has been subdivided. It is inevitable that each sub-genre has become more extreme. We have no idea where death metal is heading. We think the trends will continue to repeat revivals and innovations, although there will be some fluctuations in the trend as a loop. There may be crossovers with external genres and new inventive fusions. Although our music is very far from the mainstream and extremely niche, we would be happy if our fans in the future would like our musical challenge. Even if we don’t get much attention now, it will be a time capsule for the future, and that will motivate us to create even more.

We’d like to give a shout-out to Stanley Hatt, who gave us this great opportunity. All the questions were worth answering, such as our attitude towards creating music. We would also like to express our deepest gratitude to everyone who reads this interview. Last but not least, don’t forget to check out our new album “Horror Beyond Horror”. Cheers!

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