“A Harmony of Blistering Brutal Music: Defeated Sanity and Company Mesmerize and Total Brick by Brick in San Diego”

February 24th, 2022

…And Justice for All. Reign in Blood. Rust in Peace. Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia. Informis Infinitas Inhumanitas. The Sound of Perseverance. Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire and Demise. Revelations. Dechristianize. Masticate to Dominate. As Metalheads, we love, learn, and grow with the music we’re introduced to. These are just some of the albums, in that particular order, that I continued to be massively overwhelmed from, and were grand life changers. Constant changes in riffs, timings, counterpoints, structures, and blast beats (that was an immense eye-opener). We think to ourselves many times over, “This music can’t get any more than that!” And, we’re almost always joyously wrong. Getting to that ascending level of technicality and bombarding tone, Germany’s own Defeated Sanity brought forth a relentless tornado of guttural vocals, eclectic level of drumming wizardry, and a gritty sense of groove and melody. We weren’t prepared as late high-schoolers, to obtain the proper knowledge and musical ear, to appreciate it fully. It’s never too late to learn though, right? Defeated Sanity’s first night of their headlining tour at the Brick by Brick, brought along a compelling, sheerly talented tour package with them. A Thursday night Metal show, would have a whole new meaning after tonight.

The only local opener tonight, Gravespell demonstrated high-quality technicality in within their Black/Death Metal sound, to this salivating for Brutal music crowd. The band showed off some stellar musical abilities, tight as a unit, and tone wise especially, unforgiving. Nick Lepisto’s prolific bass ability was evident in sight, but could be heard in the mix clearly. In-between some of the slower passages, it provided this sonic boost, showing the instrumental elements of Gravespell. Not only were the finger-tapping based solos and skill of Alonzo Larios compelling to watch, but the dissonant, slower tempo open-picked chords. Often times, it would set up the intense blasting, and growling sequences from Garrett Davis. The riffs themselves sounded menacing, showing Gravespell can work different styles of speed and chords. This rabid venue gave the band one hell of a workout, and they absolutely loved every savory moment. Gravespell warmed up the crowd, gained some new fans tonight, and their set flew by.

One of the only other Brutal Death Metal bands performing, Splattered immediately brought back those memories I had of watching many Brutal bands back in the mid to late 2000s. From the pulverizing gurgles and non-stop movement on-stage from Andy Smith, to the rip-roaring, suffocating number of riffs in supply, Splattered’s set continued to open up the pit, as well as the different contrasts of ability and play. One song, an absolute Slam fest, to cerebral melodies and complexed solos from Justin Sakogawa. (He will make another stunning appearance in this review, take note.) It can be difficult to keep Brutal Death Metal dynamic, but I found the grand abilities of Splattered, as well as the variance in their style to keep their set quite lovely. The amount of fun Justin and Travis LaBerge were having on stage playing riffs together from opposite sides, was a joy to see. Their latest EP, Repugnant Virtousity, just released a few weeks ago, was represented in their set, and showed promising, extreme music. Splattered was a welcomed surprise, and the crowd was having a blast during their set.

A band I truly connect with musically, as well as am a fairly large believer in, you could feel the delightful tension in the air, with the venue at this point well packed, to the point where one of the staff told me they sold almost double in tickets then they were expecting. This is an outstanding lineup and tour, and judging from the crowd already vocal for Vitriol, it’s no surprise this Thursday night was to be not your typical evening. Their sound was excellently clear, arguably the overall best I’ve heard at their shows. Desolating aggressiveness, raw, riveting emotion, brilliant instrumentation and outstanding vocal work from two unique voices: In a small nutshell, the best way I could describe Vitriol. The intro to “The Rope Calls You Brother” a highlighted example of the forementioned, with Kyle Rasmussen’s chaotic tapping-based lead, taking turns being the counterpoint for the drumming, and stirring up the black drink of the void, right as the music entirely embodies the listener. The sonic violence within the way the notes sound, form, and how they’re played, took many of these Metalheads a back, with many familiar with Vitriol, and others getting a taste of what different sounding Metal feels like. Chason Westmoreland, with probably the most monumental performance of the entire evening, somehow looking even more comfortable than the previous band performance in December, was shocking. Triple tom fills with unbelievable speed, and often slowing down like perfectly new brakes, just some of what I could barely comprehend, and wish to learn, from this prolific and outstanding human being. Adam Roethlisberger’s bass playing, quite underrated, with soft effort taking turns as main vocals with Kyle. Stephen Ellis matched the carnage filled riffs on his side of the stage, performing their main closer, “The Parting of a Neck” with a fury. I believe the Metal community is finally realizing the talent and brilliance of Vitriol, and hoping their next North American tour, will be with another huge act. Devastating set, as usual, one of the strongest performances of the night.

Pain Will Define Their Death
2. Crowned in Retaliation
3. Victim
4. The Rope Calls You Brother
5. Violence, A Worthy Truth
6. Legacy of Contempt
7. The Parting of a Neck

Fresh off their Day 1 performance at California Deathfest VI, Skeletal Remains continue to be on important tours and events, showing the details within their constant, hard work. The crowd was energized from their tight playing, and monstrous tone. Sound wise, they sounded excellent. The advanced musicianship on stage, cannot be denied. It’s a treat to see the teamwork and connection, Skeletal Remains plays with. Pierce Williams absolutely destroyed, with swift, hammer fills, alongside standing out with his overall wonderful ability. That said, and it’s been a personal, connecting issue, there’s more Morbid Angel worship that’s quite noticeable. It’s only natural to give tribute in some form to our heroes and inspirations, but again personally, it’s often distracting. But at the very least, the guitar dynamic between Chris Monroy and Mike De La O continues to be fun and intriguing to watch. It’s admittingly a challenge to connect with Skeletal Remains, but it makes it a tad easier knowing the admiration and support they receive wherever they play, and I wish continued success towards their way, always.

Cosmic Chasm
2. Illusive Divinity
3. Beyond Cremation
4. Traumatic Existence
5. Tombs of Chaos
6. Devouring Mortality
7. Dissectasy
8. Eternal Hatred

With a mere 15-minute soundcheck, Defeated Sanity would close this epic encounter. I appreciate the work, backdrops, special effects and videography bands use in their set. However, I especially loved Defeated Sanity’s approach: Just the band on stage. No flyers, props, posters, or anything previously mentioned. It fit completely, and the band had immense space to musically clobber our senses.

Hearing Defeated Sanity records a mere few years after discovering Extreme Music, was substantially different hearing it presently. The amount of fascinating detail that were translated through the ear we’ve developed as Metalheads, the “language” continues to be further explained, translated, and understood. Jacob Schmidt’s Bass guitar assault, greatly loud in the mix, with the constant riff changes and lead parts he would perform, brought a massive reaction from the audience. “Phytodisgestion” brought forth the extreme ascension to a flurry of tempo, keeping the listeners engaged with inverted chords and sweet harmonic pinches. As noted previously, Justin Sakogawa of Splattered, performing double-duty, is also the live guitarist for Defeated Sanity! Please, buy this man a drink, a delicious meal, or anything else. It needs to be commended, and well-recognized. Throughout the set, Josh Welshman’s lurking, submerging growls and gurgles, propelled the various extreme musical aspects of Defeated Sanity, providing additional grooves while the music transitioned, noticeably during the middle part of “Butchered Identity”. Through captivating and constant changes, the brutality never got stale, instead made the set a whirlwind.

Next to Chason Westmoreland of Vitriol, seeing Lille Gruber live for the first time, one of the marvelous moments and gracious highlights, by far and large. Seeing videos of Lille perform drums for Ingurgitating Oblivion’s previous record and next, is one massive thing. It’s another to see it finally in person. The ease and control he demonstrated throughout his fantastic technique, was a sight to behold and visually/emotionally learn from. “Engulfed in Excruciation”, easily provided the visual evidence of Lille’s unworldly technique, from a speedy marathon of double-bass, simultaneously near hyper-blasting with the other hand hitting cymbals at a slightly different speed. It took me too long to realize, but the past several years, drums in Extreme Metal/music, have completely taken over more than I ever thought possible, understanding what’s in front of us, and how incredibly spoiled and lucky, to the drummers we have. Lille’s vision of Brutal Death Metal encapsulates the number of musical concepts we Metalheads understand, feel, and remember dear to our core.

Defeated Sanity’s near 60-minute set, went by honestly in a blinding flash. Some out there say it’s too long for Brutal Death Metal, but the fans were chanting for more after the last track, “Dislimbing the Ostracized”. All in all, Defeated Sanity pummeled the Brick by Brick, and us hoping we did enough to show our love and spirit, to have them come back much sooner than later.

From our very first intense Thrash record, to our premier Brutal Technical Death Metal album, the continuing expectations and ascensions we love, hold dear, and often times expect, show the immense amount of expectation and luxury we get to fully welcome and embrace. Defeated Sanity showed why their name must be included in the Brutal music scene. Absolute desolation, in prime, magnificent form. Their tour just started, do not miss this enthralling event.

1. Phytodisgestion

2. Imposed Corporeal Inhabitation

3. Lusting for Transcendence

4. Entity Dissolving Entity

5. Insecta Incendium

6. Butchered Identity

7. Arboreously Transfixed

8. Propelled into Sacrilege

9. Salacious Affinity

10. Engulfed in Excruciation

11. Into the Soil

12. Consuming Grief

13. Dislimbing the Ostracized