Defeated Sanity 'Passages Into Deformity'

Defeated Sanity Passages Into Deformity

(Willowtip Records)

By: Death Metal Pauly

Starting off the New Year with Defeated Sanity’s latest offering, Passages Into Deformity, is like having “xmas” again right away; albeit, without all of the silly lights and time off of work. True gifts to the underground, Defeated Sanity have become known for their oppressively heavy riffs and unexpected, breakneck time changes.

Defeated Sanity’s last album, Chapters Of Repugnance was a total monster, inspiring some intense live shows across Europe and the U.S. in 2011. With this in mind, Passages Into Deformity has some big shoes to fill, and I’ve been eager to hear how the band would follow up such a great album.

Passages Into Deformity is comprised of nine tracks, all of which bring intensity and brutality to the forefront and unapologetically so. Defeated Sanity have been grinding away for a while now, and have definitely developed their own sound, but, this time around, there are hints and elements of a more traditional approach to the songwriting. Guitar solos scream out of the speakers in an almost Deicide-like fashion, and a killer piano outro to the song “Verses Of Deformity” screams early Gorguts. There are other moments on the album that are reminiscent of a simpler time in death metal, a time without all the wankery and the prominence of some of today’s more “lauded” acts.

All of the musicians deliver great performances. Of particular note is new singer, Konstantin Lühring. Having just replaced A.J. Magana, Lühring has a solid act to follow and does so incredibly well. The riffs run the gamut from ridiculously busy to excruciatingly slam driven. Drummer Lille Gruber is again impressive and deserves a big credit for keeping the drums interesting and creative throughout the entire album. The drums never disappoint and always feel just right, no matter what the strings are doing. Speaking of strings, guitarist Christian Kühn and bassist Jacob Schmidt both deliver killer performances, with Schmidt taking the lead as often as he did on Chapters Of Repugnance with similar, positive results. My favorite tracks are “Verblendung” and the closer, “Martyrium.”

I’m still quite partial to Chapters Of Repugnance as it is just a flat-out crushing album, but Passages Into Deformity definitely has me by the balls at the moment. Time will tell which of two I end up preferring, but, for now, I’m stoked to start off the New Year with a killer death metal album.

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