Keeping it old school has been the recipe for success for Tokyo’s Defiled. The band’s style of death metal has oozed that classical brutality a la Cannibal Corpse and Deicide since their inception in 1992. With their seventh studio album, The Highest Level, these Far Eastern juggernauts remain both a satisfying dish for purists of the genre and a gateway for the new generation of headbangers.
Although Defiled’s new release holds true to their roots, guitarist Yusuke Sumita embraces the responsibility of keeping the material fresh, stating, “The basic musical concept of the band has not changed much. However, we may have added more breadth and depth to our method of songwriting. The basic direction of each album is not so different, but each album has a different color.” He may say color, but appropriately speaking, each record is more a different shade of black.
Nonetheless, Sumita has stuck to a vision that sets the band apart, coming from a place of originality that solely focuses on the raw nature of the music and nothing else.
“To be honest, we don’t think our music and lyrics have much influence from Japanese culture,” he elaborates. Nor has he mimicked touted acts from other parts of the world, as he continues, “For most of our history, we have not intentionally imitated Western bands.”
Some cultural influences may seep into his songwriting unconsciously, but he prefers not to let it be Defiled’s calling card.
“We don’t want to sell out by just using ethnic elements cheaply. We think that metal is a global culture now, and we want to be judged solely on the basis of the music, without taking nationality or race into consideration. It is not about where we come from but what we want to express.”
What has rubbed off on the shredder over the years, when it comes to taking cues from contemporaries, is how to treat others with respect and humility. When Defiled came to the US for the first time in 1997, Sumita took notice of how they were welcomed, recalling, “Lee Harrison from Monstrosity gave us the opportunity and we opened for Monstrosity and Angel Corpse. We were kindly invited to stay at George Fisher’s (Cannibal Corpse) house. We asked George (Fisher) to do guest vocals on our first album and he agreed out of friendship. Cannibal Corpse were undoubtedly the biggest death metal band in the world at the time, but they were very friendly, kind and had/have a great attitude.”
Sumita has maintained his humble ways during the band’s reign as one of Japan’s finest death metal acts, making it obvious when being asked about giving advice to newer musicians: “First of all, we are not in a position to give advice to other people, so we can’t give much advice to young bands. However, we all have only one life to live, so everyone should take on challenges that are true to their passions so that they will not regret it. The same goes for us.”
