Ever since their maniacal mastermind picked up his first pair of sticks at the tender age of six, Defeated Sanity have found newly inventive ways to spin death metal on its deformed head. This band of technical headbangers have broken onto the Billboard charts with jazz-infused chaos and even recorded a proggy split with...themselves?
But on their upcoming seventh album, Defeated Sanity are returning to the brutal slamming that cemented their legacy. The latest single off Chronicles of Lunacy is still plenty twisted, but "Accelerating the Rot" now stands as one of the fastest songs in the band's history.
Watch the punishing and precise performance video for "Accelerating the Rot” Below.
Chronicles of Lunacy comes out November 22 on Season of Mist.
Pre-order & Pre-save
https://orcd.co/defeatedsanitythecroniclesoflunacy
Over the past 30-odd years, many esteemed vocalists have cycled in and out of Defeated Sanity. However, after a satisfyingly gruesome performance on their last album, Josh Welshman is back for Chronicles of Lunacy. His foul emanations bring a refreshing air of continuity. "Each song on the album delves into a different form of mental corruption", Welshman says.
The album's lead single stunk of religious fanaticism, but "Accelerating the Rot" races like the mind of a vigilante whose idea of justice is more than a little warped. "One by one, I decimate the miasmic masses", Welshman roars above a bass line that scrambles all over the fretboard like a blood-hungry tick.
When it comes to death metal, Defeated Sanity understand that there's more than one way to deliver a brutal beating. After all, the band's mastermind is one of the world's sickest drummers. Since his father's passing in 2010, Lille Gruber has composed the bulk of their imposing discography.
"We love experimenting", Gruber explains. Even though "Accelerating the Rot" is just a few scraggly chin beard hairs over three minutes long, he never stops switching between different blistering tempos. And yet - whether he's blasting, pinging or flaying his snare, the song never loses its oddball bounce.
"Lille's drumming is just ridiculous", says bassist Jacob Schmidt. "He's still the face of the franchise, so we're never going to abandon those head-scratching moments that have always set Defeated Sanity apart".
The band's previous single crept and crawled into the album's most slam-heavy breakdown. Thanks to its lurching groove, the breakdown on the latest single from Chronicles of Lunacy will still scrunch plenty of noses, but "Accelerating the Rot" punches the gas and heads straight for the loony bin. Their maniacal timekeeper is still working the controls, but the blinding pace is set by new guitarist Vaughn Stoffey, who chews through chunky shredding and squeals of dissonance with fresh fingers.
"Accelerating the Rot is one of the fastest songs in Defeated Sanity's history", Stoffey says. "It gets back to the sheer brutality that fans love about Psalms of the Moribund and Chapters of Repugnance".
The video for "Accelerating the Rot" was created by Obscenery Films.
The underground lost their collective mind when Defeated Sanity announced Chronicles of Lunacy. Metalheads couldn't wait to bang heads over the first pressing of their new album. Several of the color variants are already sold out, but anyone who missed out isn't condemned to suffer in silence.
The second pressing of Chronicles of Lunacy is now available for pre-order. This pressing includes a transparent lime variant that's exclusive to the Season of Mist webstore. Don't wait! This variant is limited to 150 copies.
Order
https://orcd.co/defeatedsanitythecroniclesoflunacy
Can't wait for your pre-order? RSVP for Defeated Sanity's upcoming Bandcamp Listening Party. Chat with the band and listen to all of Chronicles of Lunacy two weeks before the album comes out.
Chronicles of Lunacy Bandcamp Listening Party
Thursday, November 7 @ 9 pm Eastern Time
RSVP
https://defeatedsanity.bandcamp.com/live/chronicles-of-lunacy-listening-party
None of their albums are ever going to follow a straight line, but on Chronicles of Lunacy, Defeated Sanity return to sheer brutality.
Lineup
Josh Welshman - Vocals
Vaughn Stoffey - Guitars
Jacob Schmidt - Bass
Lille Gruber - Drums
Guest musicians
Danny Nelson and Paolo Paguntalan provide backup vocals on "Amputationsdrang" and "Accelerating the Rot"
Recording Studio
Thousand Caves Studio in January 2024.
Production
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Colin Marston.
Produced by Colin Marston and Defeated Sanity.
Cover Art
Artwork by Jon Zig
Title lettering by Liz Schmidt
Layout by Alex Eckman-Lawn
Pre-order & Stream
https://orcd.co/defeatedsanitythecroniclesoflunacy
Booking: Daniel Defonce TKO: danieldefonce@tkoco.com
Follow Defeated Sanity
https://defeatedsanity.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/DefeatedSanity
https://www.instagram.com/defeated_sanity_official
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0dy6peOuKo2QkwaNWPoJpx
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/defeated-sanity/277268753