Defeated Sanity

Brace yourself; Passages Into Deformity, the latest release from Germany's Defeated Sanity, isn't an easy listen and it begins to take its toll about a minute into the first track. "Initiation" is just that: an introduction to the aural assault that is brutal death metal, with a bombardment of machine-gun drumming and dissonant riffs. Newest member Konstantin Lühring's vocal performance also adds to the overall vicious sound, with consistent, brutal gurgling the genre is defined by. But it's not all one-sided, with just an array of '90s-esque Cannibal Corpse riffs and Suffocation slams, which would be far too easy in today's modern death metal climate. Defeated Sanity have been able to push some of the boundaries, favouring technical flourishes and progressive structures. This is what makes Passages Into Deformity interesting once the listener is able to take a step back from the aggressive noise and focus on the odd time signatures and jazz-fusion bass lines, best heard in the opening sequence of "Naraka."