Just like Earache and Peaceville back in the 1980s, Germany’s Arising Empire has become the go-to record label for all things heavy. They certainly have their fingers on metal’s steely pulse, so much so that their logo acts like a seal of quality. There latest release comes in the shape of Defocus, a ferocious metalcore quartet who hail from Aalen/Stuttgart and deliver a brutal sound that’s hard to ignore. Album number two, titled there is a place for me on earth, finds the band firmly on the front foot and ready to take on the world.

You’d expect an album that presents its title in lower case lettering to be a shy and retiring affair, and emo-type record that shies away from the light. However, when it comes to there is a place for me on earth, nothing could be further from the truth. This is a record that stands proudly in the spotlight and, with little warning, starts throwing its considerable weight around. There’s no time for lengthy introductions or polite throat clearing, just a steamroller of a riff to kick off ‘let the bond be my grave’. Singer Simon Müller proves himself a versatile vocalist and displays a range that incorporates satanic shrieks and demonic guttural growls, adding extra texture to an already colourful sound.

This is a record that doesn’t stand still; not only does every song inhabit a unique space, but within those songs there’s plenty of evolution going on. In other hands this could result in an eclectic listen, yet Defocus somehow manage to fit square pegs into round holes and fuse opposing sounds together seamlessly. There are plenty of neat ideas in the song writing department too, with unorthodox song structures and unusual rhythms employed, and this results in a record that never becomes staid. It’s a certain invention that elevates the band above their peers, and it is never knowing in what direction Defocus will veer next that makes there is a place for me on earth such an engaging listen.

Defocus are a collective who understand musical dynamics very well; whilst crushing heaviness is their bread and butter, there are less intense tracks (such as the emotive ‘flatlines’) which add a touch of the lithe to balance the band’s weight. Producer Vojta Pacesny has done a grand job, especially on Jonas Mahler’s drums which often click like the keys of a giant typewriter and set an ominous tone which is counterpointed by Jeffrey Uhlmann’s buzzsaw guitar. Unlike many records which hide the bassist away, this record places Marcel Heberling’s bass prominently in the mix, and this gives the record a real forward motion, and no more so than on the amphetamine-charged closing (and title) track.

Formed in 2019, it feels as if Defocus have had a stuttering start to their career (mainly because of the pandemic), yet their sophomore album finds them in sharp relief and ready to take on the world. Global mayhem beckons.

• there is a place for me on earth is released via Arising Empire on 1st March 2024.
• Official Website
• Track List:

1. let the bond be my grave
2. biased
3. watch me bleed
4. consumed by you
5. crooked mind
6. don’t let it hurt me
7. hybrid anthem
8. …not to feel anything
9. flatlines
10. there is a place for me on earth