Defeated Sanity "Chronicles of Lunacy" Review (THESE PATIENTS RUN THE ASYLUM ONCE AGAIN)

[@mindful2864]

Defeated Sanity is one of my favorite technical/brutal death metal bands. They have the tightest rhythm section in the genre with drummer Lille Gruber and bassist Jacob Schmidt who take lots of jazz influences. Chapters of Repugnance and Passages into Deformity are masterpiece albums and I think this new one is their best since Passages. There’s lots of crushing riffs and monstrous vocals that are balanced out with jazzy drumming and bass playing. One of Defeated Sanity’s best and one of the best death metal albums of the year.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- I might gravitate a bit more to Wormed but man does Gruber's playing just draw me in. They're all insanely talented but Gruber's playing is almost hypnotic. This thing is a beast and honestly might be their strongest album yet.

[@steazfactor3637]

I listen to defeated sanity, deeds of flesh and suffocation pretty much daily and I’m glad this is another banger

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- That's a savage playlist, man. I'd say just go ahead and add this one if you already haven't lol.

[@steazfactor3637]

@ already did brother! The playlist has all their albums!

[@UroboricNate]

You guys did a great job describing and reviewing this one 👍. I’ve listened to over 400 releases from this year, this one is top 5 for me.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Hey! Thanks, man! We appreciate that. I'm not sure if it's a year ender for me but I think this might be one of their strongest albums. For as technical and savage as it is it's surprisingly catchy at times.

[@franklij1]

I LOVED this album. This was None So Vile level of greatness. Definitely one of my favorite albums of the year. Was so excited to hear your take on it and you guys didn’t disappoint!

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man! I was legit impressed as hell by this one. It's absolutely savage but the technical elements are absolutely insane. Gruber is a fuckin' maniac behind that kit.

[@spencergrady5501]

Totally into this. Love the discordance between the brutal death and jazz fusion flourishes. Your review summed it up so well.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man! Yeah, this was a brain melter for sure. The drum work alone was beyond impressive.

[@glennbarret-jy5ut]

Just went through my Defeated Sanity records last night. They age like wine. Excited as hell for this...

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- It's been awhile since I've jammed all the ones I have but I do like to go back to Passages into Deformity every now and then. This one is a fucking banger and once again Gruber's drum work just blows my mind.

[@johannesbohak5600]

I love all of their albums. Before they relocated to the US, they hang around my area a lot. Had a few chats with Jacob over the years. They never miss and they never disappointed me. How can something so brutal and so chaotic be so catchy after all? Somehow they also always reminded me a bit of Deeds Of Flesh as well.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- They're pretty consistent but I definitely favor some albums over others. I come back to Passages into Deformity more often than other albums but I think this one will have more a lot more spins coming up. I think this one might be one of their strongest and I'm with you on the catchiness of this one. There's some legit solid hooks at times.

[@cbn6635]

Great review, guys. 👍 For me, this is a 4,5 out of 5 album, and one of the true highlights of the year. Musical differences aside, this album actually gave me sort of the same vibes as the new Pyrrhon 'Exhaust' album gave me; same technical mastery and almost jazzy intensity within an extreme metal context; albeit Pyrrhon having a more mathcore element too. Both excellent albums! 🤘🤗

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man! I don't know if it'll be a year ender for me but I think this is some of their best work to date. I still haven't checked out the Pyrrhon but I might see if I can get some listens in on that one before the year ends.

[@tobyfingland8149]

Enjoyed the review, agree with Jon, the mix is not perfect but should it be for this style of music...Cheers!!

[@Džejms_Bong]

@@tobyfingland8149 it shouldn't and that's why it makes it perfect. Not being modern sounding doesn't mean it's not good. This band is full of perfectionists so the mix is definitely exactly how they wanted it to be. If John was more familiar with DF he wouldn't mention the mix thing. Let's say Cytotoxin might benefit from modern mix but modern mix won't do anything for bands like Deathhammer. Muddier sound is perfect for nasty old school slam. I'm yapping too much but I'm yapping only when album blows me away. Cheers

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man! Yeah, it's a very 90's brutal death metal mix which is something I'm used to. I'm still hit or miss on that particular snare sound but it wasn't too overdone on here.

[@Nall412]

I love gettin Jons insight on drums on the album reviews. 🔥🤘🏼

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- I like when he gets in drummer mode and the drum works grabs him to the point his drummer instincts come out.

[@Džejms_Bong]

Their best one yet ! Album of the year.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Honestly, it might be their strongest yet.

[@anthonyrain3276]

I remember seeing this band on the occupation domination tour 2020 with origin and beneath the massacre. Literally 2 days later everything shutdown from COVID.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- I didn't get to see this band until MDF this year but I do remember my last show before COVID hit. It was Gorod in Detroit. Killer show, sparse crowd though.

[@tainted_lord87]

Excellent review! I only got the Disposal of the Dead/Dharmata "split" album from Defeated Sanity. So not a big fan of them but I do enjoy them from time to time. Sounds like Chronicles of Lunacy is another banger from them. Also, I love how you both intentionally wore Suffocation hats for the review. So that you can make that comparison. Well played, guys.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man! That's actually the only one I don't own yet. I have all their other stuff but I mostly return to Passages of Deformity when I want to jam them but I'm probably adding this one to the list as well. This might be their strongest album yet.

[@Brandon1984mn]

Side note: that cytotoxin shirt is awesome! Massive.Radiation…Detected ☣️

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man! I Just got to see them recently and they slayed live. Had to snag a shirt.

[@michaelc3656]

Amazing album! Their best since Passages Into Deformity. Defeated Sanity are one of the kings of brutal death metal at this point. I'm on board with the Lille Gruber worship, too. Killer drummer.

[@oscarg212]

Actually Chapters of Repugnance was their best

[@michaelc3656]

@oscarg212 great album as well.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Honestly, I'd agree. Passages is the one I usually jam if I'm in the mood for this band and this one more of that albums particular vibe. It's still savage and technical as fuck but it's low key a bit more catchy than other albums. Gruber is a beast. I have no idea how he does what he does but dude is incredible.

[@steazfactor3637]

This has potential to be my album of the year

[@The_JustJoshing]

Insane album

[@Džejms_Bong]

Accelerating the rot and CTVF are the best thing I've heard in DM in a log long long long time. Insane indeed.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Agreed.

[@DHMSOfficial]

Great review fellas, thank you. I'm gonna grab this one for sure. I love DS. I was lucky enough to catch them live twice on the Disposal Of The Dead/Dharmata tours, the first one they played all brutal stuff focusing on Disposal, and the second one they played only songs from Dharmata. Both were fantastic. Great band!

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man! This band is absolutely insane. I've only got to see them once and it was briefly at MDF but they were insane. Gruber's drum work is beyond impressive. This dude is on another level.

[@Joydeep2000]

Brutal death metal is back.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Agreed!

[@JustAnotherHeavyMetalManiac]

4/5 for me. These guys bring the riffs, and the drum work is insane

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- We end up talking about Gruber's drum work for most of the review if I remember right lol.

[@jboogedy]

Another fine & Brutal Slab O Death! Great pulverizing and techy beatdowns on the drums and sick riffs as well, my only complaint is that the overall volume seems a bit compressed, it might just be the copy I downloaded though, let me know if you had this issue too, not something I would pick up on vinyl so I only have the 320 mp3

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Agreed. This album is as savage as it is technical and holy shit is Gruber a sick drummer. I love the musicianship across the board here but man does Gruber's drum work steal the show. Yeah, it did sound a bit quite but I have the CD version so it might be the production itself.

[@KevinTarrant-by3fi]

This band never misses! 4 of 5 from me boys!

[@thrallsofmetal]

thnx

[@autodidact9743]

Looking forward to the review. I personally thought The Sanguinary Impetus was phenomenal, but a lot of critics (including yourselves) gave it less favorable reviews, which is still understandable considering the different approach on that record. Sounds like you dug it this time though!

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Honestly, I wasn't as big of a fan of The Sanguinary Impetus but I love Passages Into Deformity. I think this one managed to be as complex as Sanguinary but also deliver more on some of the straight up brutality of earlier albums.

[@benng4376]

My copy is in the mail. Look forward to hearing it. Cytotoxin is cool.

[@tibicostea2029]

Cytotoxin live was mediocre. I do enjoy ENGULF (jammin jon's shirt)

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- I got my copy Thursday. It's been chewing on my brain since lol. Yeah, I got to see Cytotoxin not too long ago in Detroit and their set was fuckin' sick. Super nice dudes too.

[@ProfJasonC]

Absolutely killer record. On repeat all afternoon at my house. Possibly to the dismay of others who live here.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Make the neighbors suffer lol.

[@stevenanderson3936]

That Cytotoxin t-shirt is catching my attention 😍

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- I love that band. Got this when I saw them earlier this month.

[@spencerdeeks2051]

I give this a 4.5/5. Been listening to this nonstop the past two days, absolutely nuts listen. Loving this album

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- I've only had a few listens but I think this blows away the last one. Pretty killer album here.

[@spencerdeeks2051]

@thrallsofmetal agreed! Really enjoy Condemned to Vascular Famine, Heredity Violated, Accelerating the Rot. But the whole album kicks ass

[@Brandon1984mn]

I just shaved and grew my beard back after one listen…insane album

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- You too? lol

[@MYLOVELYHORSE22]

Dude, I have that same Cytotoxin shirt!!! They fucking rule!!! Also, this album is insane!! Pretty darn good!!!

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Awesome! I snagged this when I saw them in Detroit earlier this month. Killer live show.

[@thetruth4654]

I think this might be the best Defeated Sanity album so far.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- It could be. I still might favor Passage into Deformity a bit more but I've had more time with that one.

[@thetruth4654]

@@thrallsofmetal For me Passage into deformity while it is a quality album and it`s peaks are definetly comparable, but i think Chronicles of Lunacy is more solid from start to finish without any dead space or weaker points, i think Passages into Deformity has some slight weak points and that makes it slightly lower for me, but both are great albums

[@rockmovieswithtyler1989]

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man!

[@cbn6635]

Lille Gruber is putting on a drum clinic on this one. 👌

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Dude... that man is inhuman. We may or may not focus on the drum performance A LOT on here lol.

[@cbn6635]

@thrallsofmetal He's definitely up there with Jamie Saint Merat and George Kollias in the 'best drum performance of 2024' conversation.. 🤗 He also crushed it on the Ingurgitating Oblivion album, although I vastly prefer the music of Defeated Sanity over Ingurgitating Oblivion...

[@KevinTarrant-by3fi]

I'll blast this one later on boys and then I'll be back with my rating and then I'll see you tomorrow morning!🤘

[@tibicostea2029]

such a descriptive scenario of all the actions you will do. keep us posted!

[@thrallsofmetal]

thnx

[@beastofman77]

4.5/5….this is how you fucking do it!!!!

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- In terms of technical brutal death this band is still one of the apex bands in the genre.

[@DashieNegan41]

4/5 brutality

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- It's pretty damn savage for sure.

[@Nall412]

oh shit 😂🔥

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Dude... this one was intense as hell.

[@Nall412]

@@thrallsofmetal not bad eh? def gonna be in my rotation for awhile.. DS are such a top tier BDM band.. So consistent over the years.

[@Nall412]

@@thrallsofmetalmy favorite by them would be Passages into Deformity and Psalms of the Moribund 🔥

[@Metal_Vault]

Album destroys!

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Agreed!

[@jasonboardman2796]

Defeated Sanity's one of those bands that i've tried to get into but their music doesn't do it for me. 2/5 for me

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- They're definitely a challenging listen so I get it.

[@Nall412]

Are you more of a more straight up style of brutal death metal? Try deeds of flesh , Disgorge. Defeated Sanity will definitely spice it up with some progression, jazz, and a lot of technicality. Some slam in there as well

[@jasonboardman2796]

@@Nall412 I'm just not into some brutal death metal stuff when it's with slammy and the drums sounds honestly kinda sounds like St Anger kinda drum performance.

[@Nall412]

@@jasonboardman2796ohhh. Right. Gotcha

[@evilone1079]

The drum sound ruined it for me, especially the snare!

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- To me it wasn't as bad as other brutal death snares I've heard and Gruber's drum performance was absolutely jaw-dropping so I was really focused on that one.