DEFILED (Japan) - Altered State (sealed Digipak CD) (2026) Released by Season Of Mist in a Digipak w/16-page booklet.
 
Tokyo Death Metal lifers DEFILED have been at this since 1992, and studio album number #9 doesn't sound like a band coasting on legacy. "Altered State" — released on June 12th, 2026 on Season Of Mist — is 14 tracks of warped, forward-thinking Death Metal that nods to the genre's '80s and '90s underground roots without sounding like a rehash of either.

Lead single "Portal" sharpens traditional riffing into a series of tempo shifts that pry open another dimension. "Obsession" rides a shapeshifting groove into genuinely strange territory. The title track upends every convention it touches — "Receive the power," Hamada growls, and the chaos that follows is entirely controlled. Lyrically, the record draws from Orwell's 1984: dystopia, psychological unease, the madness of living through the present. Fitting.

This is Death Metal that rewards repeat listens — technical, progressive, disorienting, and still mean as hell. Cover art by Wes Benscoter, which tells you plenty before the needle even drops.
 
14 tracks in 43 minutes.  --  Season Of Mist – SOM889D
 
For savage and loyal fans of: Cryptopsy, Monstrosity, Deicide, Human-era Death.

CD Digipak Tracklist: 1. Dazed in Blindness / 2. Altered State / 3. Obsession / 4. Portal / 5. Necro-Force / 6. The Degradation / 7. Genocidal Stage / 8. Metamorphosis of Evil / 9. The Ultra Death / 10. Zombified / 11. Lunatics / 12. Prophecies / 13. Demolition / 14. Apocalyptic End
 
Recording Line-Up:

Shinichiro Hamada (Vocal, Guitar)
Yusuke Sumita (Guitar)
Takachika Nakajima (Bass)
Keisuke Hamada (Drums)