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Album Reviews : Defamer – Monolith of Filth

By on October 4, 2014

I will always have a soft spot for Brisbane death metallers Defamer, as they were one of the first local live bands I got to experience. I remember going to Rosies in Brisbane for the first time many moons ago to investigate the local metal scene and witnessing Defamer in all their glory. Now we are 8 years and 2 albums on and the lads are still pumping out their unique style of crushing death metal.

An impressively stable line-up throughout the years with 4 of the original members still in the band has helped the band really mesh together and develop their song writing skills. It has been 2 years since the last release, 2012’s Decrepit Ritual, and the song writing continues to progress and evolve and this really is highlighted in this year’s release ‘Monolith of Filth’. Also, as they are all top blokes, this EP is available for free, and if you want to be top bloke you should chuck them a tenner for it.

This EP brings 3 new tracks to the table, the opener being an ambient, white noise drenched introduction, and the finale being a cover. After the static of ‘Abysmal Resonance’, the first real track, ‘Psyklonic Summoning’, begins with a band and opens the EP in true death metal style, providing relentlessly riff after riff. A heavy, chuggy, menacing bass opens ‘Conflagration of Divinity’, setting the scene for the most intense track on the album. Over the 4 minutes the track builds in intensity and is the most enjoyable track on the EP, with hints of black metal tremolo’s scattered throughout. The title track, ‘Monolith of Filth’ is super thrashy and groovy without losing any momentum. The cover of ‘Deathcrush’ by Mayhem ends the EP nicely. Unlike many other bands that do cover tracks, Defamer bring their own crushing style to create something special and unique in its own right.

Defamer have been around long enough to know their way around a studio, and it shows. For an independent release, the quality of this EP is outstanding. The super fuzzy guitars, lovely crisp drums and chuggy bass all combine together and allow Tim Smith a perfect canvas to overlay his guttural vocals.

I have never been a big death metal fan however I will always have time for Defamer. Their brand of brutal, chuggy, super heavy death metal will always bring back fond memories, and this EP has some black and thrash metal elements which help to keep things fresh and interesting. This is another strong release, being a very well put together EP and will help calm your cravings until the next release.

Band: Defamer
Album: Monolith of Filth EP
Year: 2014
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Independent
Origin: Brisbane, Australia

Tracklist:
1. Abysmal Resonance
2. Psyklonic Summoning
3. Conflagration of Divinity
4. Monolith of Filth
5. Deathcrush (Mayhem cover)

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