Defacement - Defacement (2021)^{Release ID: 31279}

Albums that have interlude pieces between each track generally fill me with dread.  All too often they end up being distractions and can (depending on the quality of the full tracks on offer) be the only memorable aspect to the album.  If all you are going to do with these interludes is erect atmospheric constructs after full on actual tracks full of blasting and scathing extreme metal then they are to be frank, absolutely pointless. Interludes should set a theme for an album and when done well bridge tracks, close off previous tracks or whole sections of an album or introduce the next track or whole section of an album.

Originally a side project for the band Deathcrush, the multi-national band Defacement have proven that they know how to structure a blackened death metal album using interludes.  This album drips with logical despair and frantic, panic-stricken explorations of the real darkness inside us all.  I can listen to anyone on of the Limbo tracks that fall between each track and draw comparison to any of the other three interludes.  They act as elevators to the floors of an increasingly demented mind, each ride feels serene and ethereal only when you land at the next floor the realisation that you have in fact plummeted into the bowels of depravation actually hits home.  

In the midst of the blackened death metal there are moments of death / doom also that remind me of Abyssal whilst in overall attitude and outright horror I draw comparison with the amazing Altarage.  This clever use of pace is prevalent on opening track (proper) Shattered and later on Disenchanted has a superb atmospheric run to really emphasise the terror-filled aether that envelopes the record.  There is also more obvious references to Incantation and Grave Miasma but Defacement manage to create a layer above the core sound of the album that I do not recall happening all that often on other records that incorporate these genres.  Having two guitarists absolutely helps this layering effect.  It sounds at times like one guitarist is doing one thing and the other is off on some other terrifying tangent yet somehow they still marry both parts together to maintain a real sense of cohesion.

Worth noting that UK guitarist Xander Bradley of technical thrash/death merchants Cryptic Shift is in the ranks of Defacement so this ability to add coats of musical paint to proceedings certainly fits his skill set but Libyan six-stringer Khalil (Khalil Azagoth is his listed name on here but I am almost sure that is not his real surname) is superb also and the two players fit together perfectly.

So, in this instance the interludes not only work, they actually make the album so successful.  Without them, this dialling up of the intensity that occurs after each despondent interlude just would not be as obvious and so the whole ethos of the album would not work anywhere near as well.  Neat find.