Japan's Deathgrind outlet DEFILED has been churning out full-lengths since 1999, and 2020 marked the release of their sixth full-length, "Infinite Regress," an album that proved that a band isn't automatically good just by being a veteran. Well, I guess that was a lesson learnt through plenty of other, larger acts as well.

There should be a rule against short, ambient intro tracks because they take away from an important feature of the record: the first impression. This pointless, 23-second "song" preceded "Divide and Conquer," one of the album's best tracks. If anything, this should have been the first impression with its wild, layered riffs and tumultuous drumming. The drumming really solidified not only this track but also the whole record.

"Tragedy," one of the other highlights, followed suite. This was what I usually call a "full" song, as it was five minutes long and sat among a bunch of one- to two-minute Deathgrind songs. The track had an ability to progress smoothly through different riffs, making another good impression. However, it also set a high bar for the rest of the record, a bar that was met by "So Blind" and "Masses in Chaos" but was not met by any other track.

The album took a nosedive when it reached "Centuries." This song was, to put it simply, difficult to listen to. Based around two riffs, both of which were, for lack of a better word, dumb, it went back and forth for four minutes. One riff, the very first one in the song, was based around a horrifyingly stupid melody and had not one redeeming quality. The one thing that made this track remotely listenable was the drumming, as Keisuke Hamada was able to adapt to whatever was happening.

There was not a moment when the album climbed back to where it was at the beginning. The album got slightly better after "Centuries," but it did not get any more appealing. Each track was riddled with poor writing due to a lack of transitioning and riffs that just didn't belong together.

"Infinite Regress" was a tragedy. Even the production was poor, as there was only one moment I recall hearing the bass. If anything, the good songs (and the highlights really were remarkable) should have been placed onto an EP while the rest were discarded.