Defiled interview (Yusuke Sumita)

Defiled is a band that has its high and low points within their discography, but every time you go back in time with this band and listen to their music since that mythical “Erupted Wrath” (1999), the band's Death Metal idea is not the one that will tell you "we are the same as this band" or "we have rhythms similar to this band", because it is not, and with each reproduction its music grows like cancer in any body. And although the first listen to a record could be terrible, we are left with the curiosity to say "I don't know what this record has, but I want to listen to it again". So, in this effort you end up buying the entire discography of the band because you say, "what the hell is in their music?" Because by the third or fourth time you already have a very personal band in your ear, and this “The Highest Level” is no exception. And it is this last album that led us to interview the founding guitarist and only member of the first formation, Yusuke Sumita, who tells us about this last album and other topics related to their music..

Para leer la entrevista en español: Entrevista a Defiled

Metallerium: Welcome Yusuke to Metallerium pages. It’s a great pleasure to talk with you about Defiled, this new album “The Highest Level” and more things related to metal world. We’ll start by asking, how was the band during these last 3 years after “Infinite Regress” (2020)? And could it be said that the pandemic and free time had something to do with the composition of this new album?

Defiled: The pandemic has been a major obstacle to the band’s activities for the past 3 years. All touring activities in 2020 were canceled after the pandemic was declared. It was disappointing because we had just released our album “Infinite Regress” and we were about to start a massive touring. It is true that the album was made with that frustration and the time that was suddenly available. We think it turned out to be a good album in the end.

Metallerium: Talking about a little history of the band, the band was formed in 1992, but after 7 years you released your first album “Erupted Wrath”(1999), which I consider a jewel of Japanese Death Metal. So, what were the reasons for the band to take 7 years to release your first album? And what memories do you have of your first concert in the United States with Monstrosity and Angelcorpse in 1997? Because those years you were about to release your first album.

Defiled: It could be hard to understand our initial state by reading the biography, but the band had a lot of problems in the beginning and it took a long time to get the band working. The main reason was the lineup problem. Whenever someone would join, someone else would leave and so on. Actually our first live performance was in July 1995. We released a demo tape “Rough Mix Promo Tape ’93” in 1993 and our first EP ”Defeat of Sanity” in 1994, but it was much harder to start live activities. The first draft of our first album “Erupted Wrath” was recorded in 1996 and mixing of the album was completed in 1997. Jim Morris (Morrisound Studio, Tampa Florida) mixed the album and the guest vocals were done by Corpsegrinder of Cannibal Corpse. We stayed at his house during the mixing session because of his courtesy. We told our friends in Tampa, Florida about our mixing schedule and Lee Harrison of Monstrosity kindly booked us for our first US show with Angel Corpse and Monstrosity in 1997. It was an amazing time.

Metallerium: Another detail that I saw in the 90s, I think you were the only Japanese band that made it to the United States more than once and played in Florida, another at the Milwaukee Metal fest, etc. How did you come to have that opportunity to play there? And what do you think of the return of this legendary festival this 2023?

Defiled: Regarding gigs, festivals and tours, they are not something we, the band, can handle. We need connections and luck. Bookings are quite uncertain and very political. They are something beyond our efforts and control. We would say that we have been lucky, as our debut show in the US in 1997 was courtesy of Monstrosity, and our consecutive appearances at the Milwaukee Metal Festival were due to Don Decker from our label at that time, Nightfall/Terrorizer Records, being on a selection committee. It is great news that the Milwaukee Metal Festival will be back in 2023 and we hope to play at it again one day.

Metallerium: Related to the topic of history, the 90s were a time when Death Metal had its explosion all over the world, but Japan was very far from that explosion, but there were bands like you, Multiplex, Eroded, Hellchild, Intestine Baalism and many more that They did things very differently from bands from other countries. How were those years for the Death Metal scene in your country? And what do you think has been missing for Japan to be a power within the style? Because as I said, the mentioned bands are unique.

Defiled: Let us briefly analyze the crux of this. Japan was/is a more closed and conservative society than the West. In the case of those bands that had university students as members, they left the bands when they graduated and started their careers. In Japan, if you do not find a job at the time of graduation from university, you will not get a regular job. And lifetime wages vary greatly. This is the real reason why most of them quit the band. We were just few exception.

Metallerium: Defiled is a band that has just completed 30 years of existence, and is the only one that hasn’t had a break since its inception. So how did you keep the band going for so long without peers and lineup changes? Because of many bands that I heard in the 90s from your country, you are the most active and the ones with a powerful label like Season of Mist.

Defiled: In fact, we have been going for 30 years without a single break. Our 20-year relationship with Season of Mist is also due to the generosity of our boss, Michael Berberian. There is a reason why the band has continued despite many member changes. We have a commitment when a member joins that if they want to leave the band, they should let the band know as soon as possible and give the band time to find a replacement. There have been a few members who have ignored this and leftabruptly, but most of them have been gentlemen and left after passing the baton to the next member, so the band has been able to survive for many years.

Metallerium: Now, talking a bit more about the sound of the band since their first album and up to this “The Highest Level”. I was always curious to know what your influences were, because what they did since 1999, I don’t hear in other bands to this day. Do you think that the Japanoise effect of your country made you present a more chaotic sound within Death Metal? Because almost all the extreme bands from Japan from the 90s until now, were always crazy.

Defiled: First of all, thank you for noticing that our music is different from other bands in the West.Unfortunately, Japanese noise has not influenced us even 1%. The influence of Stravinsky, hardcore punk, thrash metal, and prog rock that we listened in our youth may have influenced us on a subconscious level. Also, the sense of chaos may have come from the sheer number of people in Tokyo.

Metallerium: Being the last original member of the band since 1992 and the one who saw all the eras of the band and their lineups. How would you describe the history of the band in your words? and how were you able to maintain the sound of the band with new members? And how did they understand Defiled’s vision with crazy, brutal and highly technical ideas? Because for me Defiled is very different from the thousands of bands that exist today.

Defiled: The band has a history of 3 decades and the line-up changes from time to time. However, as long as I am writing the music, there is a consistency in style. However, each member in the lineup has his own unique style, which also influences the songs. The songs are arranged with the elements of the band members, so we think the songs are the band’s songs. It is not a solo project. We don’t really know what makes us different from other bands. Basically we just do what we want to do.

Metallerium: For people like me who are over 40 years old, it is very easy to recognize that this “The Highest Level” of you is Death Metal in its most chaotic, brutal and highly technical vein. But the new generation of 40, 30 years or less, seems to them something much more progressive and even experimental. Therefore, how would you define the music on this latest album? And what do you think of the trend within the new generations that place it technical, progressive and I don’t know what else?

Defiled: It is interesting that different generations perceive our music in different ways. The way they perceive music changes depending on what kind of musical background they have. We don’t think we should force our listeners to perceive our music in any way. We are happy when listeners interpret our music the way they want to. We’ve seen a lot of reviews that are off the mark, but we don’t care them. Everybody is free to interpret it as they want.

Metallerium: Once again they worked with Wes Benscoter for the cover of this new album. Therefore, how do you feel working with him for more than 20 years on all albums? And how did you come up with the idea of joining him from the beginning? Does he still work with you on sketches and ideas? Does he completely independently develop the cover art?

Defiled: For “In Crisis”, “Towards Inevitable Ruin” and & “Infinite Regress”, we showed Wes our rough sketches and asked him to draw the artwork. For “The Highest Level”, we found a drawing on his Instagram page that he had already finished and asked him to let us use it. We adjusted our lyrics to his artwork. So the artwork matches the concept of the lyrics.

Metallerium: We are very close to finishing this interview Yusuke, for which. What are the future plans that the band has for this new album? Maybe some tours in the United States, Europe or who knows in Latin America. Cuz even if you don’t reach many countries here, I still travel to see you in a closer place.

Defiled: Of course, we’d like to tour as much as possible. As mentioned above, booking is not something the band can do alone. There is also the issue of rising costs. So we cannot promise anything right now, but we will do our best to tour as much as possible around the world

Metallerium: Well, Yusuke, it was a huge pleasure to talk with you. This new album is a beast! Love this new one and you can read the review in our web. Maybe you have something to add to your Latin fans and Metallerium followers.

Defiled: Thank you very much for your high rating. Believe it or not, making of the next album “Horror beyond Horror” is already on final phase. We have a lot of ideas. If you like the album “The Highest Level”, please check out our previous albums. And please stay tuned for future albums as well. Thanks for your support. You guys rule ! Hopefully see you on the road one day. Cheers!