Chronicles of Lunacy

Album review

It's hard to believe, but Defeated Sanity has been a band for more than 30 years. Originally a project between a death metal father and his eleven-year-old son, the first decade of the band could be argued as essentially a big jam session, bearing fruit in the form of a few demos until their debut LP in 2004. But that father-son cross pollination is what's so fascinating—a sound steeped in classic techniques that took an approach that was fulfilling to both old and new fans of the genre. At this point, Defeated Sanity is a leading voice in brutal technical death metal, blazing trails musically and breaking new ground stylistically while making sure to keep focused that it's all in service of the song. So while many confuse technicality for brutality, at the end of the day a deep knowledge of obscure scales and sweep-picking has nothing to do with writing a melody that sticks with you.

Chronicles of Lunacy is Defeated Sanity's seventh LP, and one that lone founding member Lille Gruber promises has a "focus more on neck-snapping brutality." Considering the band's overall propensity to deliver some head-scratching experimental moments, don't expect the simplicity of the Maggot Stomp roster with this record. What Chronicles of Lunacy does achieve is another landmark of jaw-dropping technicality and swirling riffage, punctuated by moments to let the groove take charge. Simply put, it's a Defeated Sanity record, which means a brilliant, wildly imaginative ride through depravity. 

Album opener, "Amputationsdrang," which semi-predictably translates to "amputation urge" from German is a spinning, time-signature-changing track out of the Suffocation playbook, but with levelled-up lunacy. From there the band struts their shape-shifting, death metal chops with godlike precision, mixing in stomping old school death, deathgrind, half-speed slam parts, and drum-clinic level fills. It's enough to make you wonder how it's all stitched together and moreso, how in the hell do they pull this off on the live stage between learning the changes between sections and (gulp) actually executing them. Then again, maybe understanding how they get it all done is all in their name.  © Fred Pessaro/Qobuz