Style: Progressive death metal, avant-garde death metal (Mixed vocals, mostly harsh)
Recommended for fans of: Imperial Triumphant, Igorrr, Diablo Swing Orchestra, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Slipknot
Country: Russia
Release date: 15 May 2026

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Although getting involved with someone who’s described as volatile and unhinged may be a poor life decision (that will inevitably lead to regret and hurt), within progressive metal these descriptors imply a dynamic emotional power that allows for a potentially positive, engaging connection with listeners. By incorporating streaks of the avant-garde, controlled sonic chaos can often heighten an album’s impact by introducing an unsettling sense of danger. Imperial Triumphant, in capturing the grime and opulence of New York City life, and Igorrr, with their off-the-wall use of unconventional and non-musical elements, successfully infuse chaos into extreme music—each of these bands have a unique and immediately identifiable voice. In a similar vein, Defect Designer are unfettered by convention or genre labelling, building on a base of weird, proggy death metal. On their fourth LP, Depressants, Defect Designer carry a more-is-more attitude, as the band throw everything they can get their hands on into the album, unconcerned with what sticks.

Listening to Depressants is the sonic equivalent of walking through an extreme hoarder’s house. The absolute clutter of cacophonous, disjointed phrases smother. Tracks bounce all over the place with abrupt transitions between furious blast beat-driven death metal, jazz and folk-lined acoustic passages, and occasional slow, plodding pounding in a disorienting, schizophrenic fashion. The combination of Slipknot-like nu metal riffs (“Butterfly Juice Straws”, “Awaiting the Return of the Golden Age”, “I Heard Robespierre Scream Like a Bitch”), epic symphonic orchestration (“As the Terracotta Dust Settles”), and the random incorporation of surprise instruments like the banjo, mandolin, and cello (“The Inevitable Mad Composite”) result in a confused and disoriented listen. Hell, the “James Bond” theme song even makes an appearance at the conclusion of “Carte Blanche”. When Defect Designer temporarily settle into the more traditional rabid death metal sections (“Daily Dose of Gloom” and “Repeated Aversive Stimuli Inducer”), the muddied production blends the guitar layers into a sticky, incoherent mess.

If Depressants were delivered with a tight run time, Defect Designer’s jumbled clutter of explosive tracks may have been palatable, though with thirteen songs stretching to just under an hour in length, the album is an absolute chore to get through. Alongside the disorienting instrumentation, the lack of clear vocal consistency results in Depressants feeling like a random compilation of unrelated songs. Though vocal credits are only given to Dmitry Sukhinin and Martin Storm-Olsen, each track seems to have its own vocal style, cycling through tormented harsh, sarcastic shouts, and harmonized mid-note cleans. “Body Count of My Cow Tail”, the most perplexing track on Depressants, combines slow acoustic guitar plucking with mocking clean female vocals, unsettling giggling, and shouts, all of which add to the disorder at the album’s midpoint.

With the flurry of ideas infused into Depressants, Defect Designer do hit some high points amid the confusion. Fleshgod Apocalypse’s Eugene Ryabchenko’s rapid and technical performance on the drums; the prominent bass carries a playful bounce throughout the mix; the guitar melody toward the end of “Butterfly Juice Straws” offers one of the few appealing moments that stuck with me after the album concluded; and “Scorching the Rival Pogonomyrmex Burrows” effectively opens a cleanly picked guitar that gives way to a satisfying groove before dissolving into Defect Designer’s characteristic dissonant chaos. 

Depressants’ manic nature polarizes and will result in strong reactions, though this is likely through design, though a defective one I might add. Defect Designer certainly have plenty of ideas and the technical skill to indulge their every whim, but the lack of consistency creates a nauseating listening experience—the chaos on Depressants reigns free, unrestrained and ineffectively harnessed. While I might not be a neat-freak, a little organization and de-cluttering would go a long way in furthering Defect Designer’s listenability.

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Recommended tracks: Butterfly Juice Straws, Daily Dose of Gloom, As the Terracota Dust Settles
You may also like: Diskord, Februus, Demilich, Disharmonic Orchestra, Swelling Repulsion, Hermit Dreams
Final verdict: 4/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Transcending Obscurity Records

Defect Designer is:
– Dmitry Sukhinin – (vocals, guitars, bass)
– Martin Storm-Olsen – (guitars, bass, vocals, additional string instruments)
– Eugene Ryabchenko – (drums)