I just finished my third listen to Altered State and I’m still catching little things I missed the first time around.
Defiled have been around forever at this point, which is exactly why this album surprised me. A lot of veteran death metal bands eventually settle into autopilot. They figure out what works, stick with it, and keep releasing decent records. Altered State doesn’t sound like that. It sounds like a band with something to prove.
The first thing that hit me was how restless the whole album feels. There are riffs everywhere. Not just good riffs, but the kind that barely stick around long enough before another one shows up. Half the time I was still processing one section when the band had already moved on to the next.
“Portal” was probably the track that grabbed me immediately. After that, “Altered State”, “Obsession” and “Necro-Force” kept pulling me back. Not because they’re radically different from the rest of the album, but because they capture that frantic energy Defiled seem to thrive on. The songs never feel comfortable. Just when a groove starts settling in, something shifts and the whole thing lurches off in another direction.
Shinichiro Hamada still sounds completely possessed behind the microphone. No surprises there. What impressed me more was how sharp the entire band sounds. The drumming is relentless without turning into background noise, and the guitar work constantly keeps the album moving forward.
One thing I noticed after a few listens is that Altered State doesn’t really have any interest in being clever. There’s no obvious attempt to modernise the band’s sound or chase whatever trend death metal is supposed to be following this year. Defiled just sound like Defiled. Thankfully, that’s more than enough.
The album also gets in, does its damage, and gets out. A little over forty minutes later it’s finished, which honestly feels like the perfect length for something this intense. I never found myself checking the tracklist or waiting for a song to end.
By the time the final track was over, I wasn’t thinking about innovation or originality. I was already reaching for the play button again.
That’s usually a good sign.
https://orcd.co/defiledalteredstate
Photo by © Fukcrec Hbk
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