Though longtime masters of the vile art known as death metal, Defiled aren’t relics or custodians for the old-school. Since 1992, the living legends have shared the stage with Morbid Angel, Mayhem, Cannibal Corpse and Incantation, but their upcoming ninth album continues to take the genre in dark but unexpected directions. On Altered State, they deliver a dizzying blast of death metal straight from the future.
“While rooted in death metal’s formative years, the record pushes far beyond genre orthodoxy”, Metal Injection wrote upon the album’s announcement.
Today, Defiled are releasing a music video for the second advanced single from Altered State. With its slippery groove, “Obsession” turns more heads than the occult.
“Altered State is an expansion of our last two albums, The Highest Level and Horror Beyond Horror”, Defiled guitarist and founding member Yusuke Sumita says. “It centers on altered states of human consciousness. Each song explores different forms of extreme psychology or mental manipulation”.
“‘Obsession’ delves into the fascinating story of Jack Parsons”, Sumita continues. “He was a pioneer of rocket fuel technology for NASA but also deeply immersed in the occultism of Aleister Crowley. The dramatic and tragic nature of his explosive demise felt deeply metaphorical to me. It compelled me to weave the intensity of his story into the lyrics of this song. I hope you find it a compelling journey!”
The video for “Obsession” was created by Seaside99works.
Altered State comes out June 12, 2026 on Season of Mist. Pre-order & Pre-save: https://orcd.co/defiledalteredstate
After hearing them pound out three albums in four years, metalheads would be forgiven for assuming Defiled had reached the highest level, that there were no horrors left for them to reveal. Altered State quickly quiets any further foolish suspicions. “Obsession” locks into a nasty groove, only for Sumita and fellow axesmith Shinichiro Hamada to shred through a labyrinthine of treacherously technical riffs.
“The music on Altered State is a combination of old-school death metal, technical-thrash riffs and the rhythmic changes of progressive rock”, Sumita says.
Defiled are still guided by the underground spirit, but “Obsession” delves deeper into their psychic perception of our warped reality. Bassist Takachika Nakajima and drummer Keisuke Hamada pound out rhythms that are truly twisted. “Obsessed by a dark vision”, Shinichiro Hamada growls. With one final headbanging twist, he and his bandmates descend into psychological hell. “Let the psychic flame burn”.
Hear “Obsession”, “Portal” and other songs from Altered State during Defiled’s Japanese summer tour, as well as their upcoming shows with Incantation and Brujeria.
Defiled 2026 Altered State Japanese Tour
June 9 – Tokyo @ Holiday with Incantation
June 10 – Yokohama @ El Puente
June 11 – Fussa @ Chicken Shack
June 12 – Tokyo @ Earthdom
June 13 – Fukushima @ Sora
June 13 – Sendai @ Solfa
June 14 – Aizuwakamatsu @ Karando
June 14 – Niigata @ Rocka
June 15 – Nagano @ Rosebery Cafe
June 16 – Kofu @ Bodega
June 17 – Iida @ Space Tama
June 18 – Nagoya @ Studio 246
June 19 – Osaka @ Hokage
June 20 – Okayama @ Dogvult
June 20 – Hiroshima @ Agit
June 21 – Fukuoka @ Reflex
June 21 – Sasebo @ Distortion
June 22 – Mabi @ Branch
Defiled 2026 Japanese Dates with Brujeria
September 15 – Tokyo @ Cyclone
September 16 – Osaka @ Socore Factory
Tracklist
1. Dazed in Blindness (2:59)
2. Altered State (3:05)
3. Obsession (3:04) [WATCH]
4. Portal (3:39) [WATCH]
5. Necro-Force (2:31)
6. The Degradation (3:51)
7. Genocidal Stage (2:27)
8. Metamorphosis of Evil (3:11)
9. The Ultra Death (2:42)
10. Zombified (2:17)
11. Lunatics (3:07)
12. Prophecies (3:29)
13. Demolition (3:25)
14. Apocalyptic End (3:25)
Defiled truly are their own island. While active since 1992, during death metal’s golden era, the Tokyo legends are neither relics nor custodians for the old-school. They do not follow Western traditions. They cannot be reduced to tokens like kimonos or samurai. Like the Japanese salamander, they continue to evolve in isolation, free from passing trends. Founding member and guitarist Yusuke Sumita and his band of warriors remain masters of the form, but their upcoming ninth album bears only a passing resemblance to the genre’s past or present. On Altered State, Defiled unleash a dizzying blast of death metal straight from the future.
“Like many other bands, our musical roots are heavily influenced by early ‘90s death metal and ‘80s thrash and hardcore, however, our interpretation is different and has branched off from the current scene”, Sumita says. “On Altered State, there are many catchy hooks, but tricky progressive rhythms and song structures can be found as well. The album may not be understandable after a few listens, but it taps into a blind spot that many bands have missed”.
Though they’re indifferent to scenes within the larger world of metal, Defiled’s presence has spread far and wide for more than three decades. The band’s 1994 debut EP, Defeat of Sanity, quickly proved prescient after inspiring the name of their future Season of Mist labelmates Defeated Sanity. Their first three full-lengths – Erupted Wrath (1999), Ugliness Revealed (2001) and Divination (2003) – were all mixed by none other than the legend himself, Jim Morris, at Morrisound Studios in Tampa, Florida. Early success set them upon a war path through the Japanese underground and onto the international stage. Defiled ransacked Milwaukee Metal Festival and banged heads with Morbid Angel, Mayhem, Cannibal Corpse and Incantation.
Since signing with Season of Mist in 2003, Defiled have shown no sign of slowing down. Despite enduring some changes between 2011’s In Crisis and 2016’s Towards Inevitable Ruin, the personnel around Sumita is now locked in with Keisuke Hamada pounding on drums, Takachika Nakajima nailing down bass and Shinichiro Hamada handling both guitars and vocals. Starting with Infinite Regress in 2020, this lineup is currently riding a seemingly endless hot streak. After reaching The Highest Level in 2023, they topped themselves once more with 2024’s Horror Beyond Horror.
“Horror Beyond Horror again finds Defiled stuck on the upswing”, Decibel wrote in an 8/10 review. “With their eighth studio album since 1992, the Tokyo death metal longhairs’ third pandemic-era disc completes a four-year hothouse of peak ability, creativity and volatility”.
Metalheads can be forgiven for assuming Defiled had already reached peak shredding, that there were no horrors left for them to reveal. But Altered State quickly quiets any leftover suspicions. Lead single “Portal” opens with a reminder that this band can sharpen even traditional riffs before breaking into a series of tempo shifts that unlock another plane of existence. Though still influenced by sounds that came from the underground, the album delves even deeper into their psychic perception of our warped reality with a twist of inspiration from Stravinsky. Occultists gather around the shapeshifting groove that seizes hold over “Obsession”.
“Both musically and lyrically, Altered State is an expansion of The Highest Level and Horror Beyond Horror”, Sumita says. “The music is a combination of old-school death metal, technical-thrash riffs and the rhythmic changes of progressive rock. The lyrics are based on the dystopian world presented in George Orwell’s science-fiction masterpiece 1984. They express the madness that everyone living in the present currently feels”.
Altered State isn’t afraid to wind through the darkest and most mysterious corners of our collective consciousness. But listen closely to Defiled and all secrets will be revealed. “Receive the power”, the band command on the album’s title track with a chaos that only they can control.
Lineup
Shinichiro Hamada – Vocals, Guitar
Yusuke Sumita – Guitar
Takachika Nakajima – Bass
Keisuke Hamada – Drums
Production credits
Recorded at Studio Zot in Tokyo, Japan
Producer – Yusuke Sumita
Sound Engineers – Shinichiro Hamada and Keisuke Hamada
Mixing and Mastering Studio – Studio Nest in Chiba, Japan
Mixing and Mastering Engineer – Kenji Kikuchi
Songwriting credits: Music and lyrics by Yusuke Sumita
Follow Defiled
Website : http://www.defiled.info/
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/defiled
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/defiledjapan
Bandcamp : https://defiledjapan.bandcamp.com
Soundcloud : https://soundcloud.com/defiled
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@defiled
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6KDc0SB4ero6zAgrafjVrt
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/defiled/72867298
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/music/player/artists/B001GJ407S/defiled
