Thus Defiled

 

Returning to England--the land that gave the genre its name--we encounter THUS DEFILED. Hailing from Worthing, in West Sussex, Thus Defiled is one of the key British black metal bands of the second wave, but sometimes it seems only the hardcore black metal fans know of them.

Having formed in 1992 from the ashes of extreme metal band Unholy Deification, Thus Defiled had the stated goal of creating "bestial blackened metal." Their first salvo of vile blackened metal was unleashed in the form of a 1993 demo, Blasphemous Coven.

This is Blasphemous Coven in its entirety

In this first phase of the band's existence, their sound was more of a death metal with black metal influences (think Crucifier or Acheron). It was evil, angry, satanic--perfect for old-school black metal fans. This demo also caught the ears of record labels and metalheads the world over. Thus Defiled was soon in high demand, and even opened for extreme metal bands like Gorguts and Blasphemy! Their second demo--Enchanted by the Dark One--was yet more brutal old-school black/death. It was also released in 1993. Thus Defiled were off to a strong start.

Their sound continued to evolve, and after some compilation appearances in 1994, they put out their first full-length studio album in 1995 (Through the Impure Veil of Dawn). It was a more recognizable black metal sound. The guitar tone was still close to old-school death metal, as were the vocals, but the song structures were more in the vein of what we call black metal. Check out "Under Blackening Horizons," below:

With the release of 1997's Wings of the Nightstorm, Thus Defiled really had established themselves as one of British black metal's elite. On their second album, their style evolved to an even stronger black metal sound. They still had a guitar tone that drew on old-school death metal, but the riffing and song structures were aggressive black metal.

The late '90s and early 2000s were good times for Thus Defiled, but the band had their struggles as well. While their success led to touring opportunities with such bands as Cradle of Filth, Dissection, and Moonspell, they (like so many extreme metal bands) had trouble maintaining a stable roster. With the recruiting of second guitarist Paul F. in 1998, things stabilized a bit.

"Rapture of Twilight Burning" comes from their 1997 album

With a more stable line-up, the band continued to evolve their black metal sound. In the 2000s, Thus Defiled's output has been a consistent series of good, quality black metal. They have shown the world that the UK can compete when it comes to extreme metal.

From the A Darker Beauty EP, this is "Ebony Thorns Embrace"

Select Discography:

Blasphemous Coven (demo) (1993)

Enchanted by the Dark One (demo) (1993)

Through the Impure Veil of Dawn (full-length) (1995)

Wings of the Nightstorm (full-length) (1997)

A Darker Beauty EP (2000)

Fire Serpent Dawn EP (2002)

Weeping Holocaust Tears (full-length) (2003)

Next time: AGATUS