Defect Designer
Defect Designer have kept progressing with each album and they seem to have reached the acme with this one. It's wildly diverse and refreshing while retaining their core sound; it's a marvel how they continue to remain death metal or keep reverting to it after unabashedly exploring various sounds and imbibe influences from so many unrelated and unexpected styles. No song is redundant or sounding too similar at this point; they have something or the other hidden in it, often towards the end. This is decidedly their most ambitious album and they've outdone themselves on this one to offer a singular, exhilarating experience for the true prog-minded fans of the style. With the music on "Depressants" being as colourful as the Ian Miller artwork, it is anything but what the album title suggests - that's just the classic tongue-in-cheek Defect Designer for you.Line up on Depressants:
Dmitry Sukhinin (Diskord) - Vocals, guitars, bass, music, lyrics
Martin Storm-Olsen - Guitars, bass, vocals, sound engineering, lyrics, additional string instruments
Eugene Ryabchenko (Fleshgod Apocalypse) - DrumsArtwork by Ian Miller (Ulthar)Björn Strid - Vocals on "Expiration Deferral Request Denied"
Makeda Rose - Vocals on "Body Count Of My Cow Tail"
Ottar Skifte - Additional vocals on "Butterfly Juice Straws"
Martin Skar Berger - Orchestral scores
Maxim Salnikov - Additional synthesizers
Eyvind Axelsen - Additional upright bass and electric cello
Colin Marston - Mastering
Grind!
Born out the darkness of Siberia, the band came out with the first full-length album "Wax", that brings Siberian cold and will fit those who like Gorguts' Obscura, later Cannibal Corpse and Carcass. Defect Designer have travelled 5000 km to produce it in Hertz Studio. Music has no borders!Re-located on the shores of Oslo, Norway in 2012, we have pushed forward in 2015 with the second full length ‘Ageing Accelerator’. The second album "Ageing Accelerator" features a brutal recording line up that includes drummer Flo Mounier (Cryptopsy), guitarist Stelios Mavromitis (SepticFlesh live), Martin Storm-Olsen (ex-Trollfest) on guitars and clean vocals, Christos Antoniou (SepticFlesh) for sampling and orchestration along with Dmitry Sukhinin on vocals, bass and guitars. The ten track ripper is an aural assault that fans of Cryptopsy, Edge Of Sanity, Slipknot, and Carcass will not want to miss as it follows DEFECT DESIGNER‘s evolution.2022 saw a new release, an EP "Neanderthal", released 8th of July. This time we have used our own Sounds of O studio for recording and mixing and mastered in Finnvox Studios. The "Neanderthal" is released through Transcending Obscurity Records, it is our most straightforward record so far! The artwork is done by the one and the only Ian Miller!In 2023 we are done with recording of our new full-length - mixed in Sounds of O Studio and mastered by Finnvox. The artwork is again done by Ian Miller. Chitin will be released in 2024 through Transcending Obscurity Records. The lineup features Eugene Ryabchenko on drums, Martin Storm-Olsen on bass and additional vocals, Dmitry Sukhinin on guitars and vocals."Defect Designer from Norway are reinterpreting death metal their own way, adding grind influences and a maniacal fervour to it all. With the free-spirited, unhinged approach bordering on seeming frivolous, there is in fact a method to this madness; everything is meticulously thought out and written for maximum effectiveness. There is a reason this release feels like an unabated rush from start to finish, with the momentum only snowballing as it progresses. The performances are top notch, as can be expected when there are multiple members of the calibre of Diskord on this record. It's only appropriate then that their skills are used to channel a different kind of sound while retaining the ingenuity. Even though this wild, entertaining and multi-faceted album ends sooner than desired, it only compels the listener to vividly experience it over and over again and discover strange new things, such as in their highly intricate Ian Miller artwork, and look forward to a ton of material shaping up from this criminally overlooked death metal band."“It’s an impressive effort, a quantum leap forward from their debut. The arrangements are diverse, and the musicianship is impeccable. They add progressive elements to the crushing death metal, giving it ample variety.” – Heavy Metal About.com“Blazing, head-scrambling music”- No Clean Singing"They are in my estimation one of the finest modern death metal acts, combining far too many influences to count into a formula that generates numerous deadly riffs alongside numerous unique, non-repeated segments per song.” – No Clean Singing“The thrashing is amazing, the inventive solos are killer, and the melody teeters on insane from time to time. Go listen! It’s awesome.” – Yell! Magazine“When it comes to pure, unadulterated death metal, this disk is about as good as it gets. Tracks like “Corpsewatcher”, “Yellow Grimace” and “The Terrible” are a complete metal assault on the ears. If you like your death metal brutal with a side of chaotic musicianship, this release is definitely for you.” – Broken Neck Radio“a scathing hell storm of twisted fury on.” – Has It Leaked“Siberia is known as a large remote expanse of the earth that is unforgivably cold. Even among this cold landscape, there can be hard metal with a brutal tone ” – Seymour DuncanINTERVIEW: Supreme Aristocracy -
abreulipe54-uekfc.wordpress.com/2026/05/12/supreme-aristocracy-interview-338-with-the-norwegian-russian-experimental-metal-band-defect-designerPRESS -► "one of the most sonically interesting “prog death” albums this year" - Nine Circles
ninecircles.co/2026/05/12/review-defect-designer-depressants► "I can't really encapsulate everything else which the excellent Depressants contains because it's a lot. Suffice it to say that if you love progressive music, then this release is, once again, for you." - Heavy Blog Is Heavy
www.heavyblogisheavy.com/2026/03/25/exclusive-premiere-17► "a source of head-spinning and sometimes confounding surprises" - No Clean Singing
www.nocleansinging.com/2026/02/21/seen-and-heard-on-a-saturday-at-the-gates-the-silver-the-leaving-defect-designer► "'Depressants' is fun, constantly surprising, and remains exciting even on the tenth listen" - Twilight Magazin 12/15
www.twilight-magazin.de/reviews/musik-review/defect-designer-depressants-review► "you’ll get what the album art shows on the tin: a swarm of clashing colors and textures" - Toilet ov Hell
toiletovhell.com/this-toilet-tuesday-5-12-26► "Depressants features far more surprising and enjoyable pieces" - Acta Infernalis 80/100
actainfernalis.com/2026/05/14/review-3258-defect-designer-depressants-english► "ability to hold together dozens of wildly disparate and extreme ideas within a single cohesive whole" - Pitstop Metal 8/10
pitstopmetal.com/tr/kritikler/defect-designer-depressants-album-incelemesi► "Continuing to break the barriers of Progressive Death Metal, this unstoppable trio returns with their fourth studio album, sounding wildly diverse and refreshing" - The Headbanging Moose
theheadbangingmoose.com/2026/05/10/album-review-defect-designer-depressants-2026► "I can’t stop listening. Defect Designer has that effect on me" - Flying Fiddlesticks
flyingfiddlesticks.com/2026/05/13/defect-designer-depressants-transcending-obscurity-2026/► "The surprises never end, it’s filled with delight" - Metal Epidemic 3.5/5
www.metalepidemic.com/defect-designer-depressants► "whacked out tech-death fused with madhouse grindcore" - Wormwood Chronicles
www.wormwoodchronicles.net/torture-chamber/defect-designer1► "the album itself is undeniably rooted in shared ideas that merge to create a cohesive whole" - Metallerium 8/10
www.metallerium.com/defect-designer-depressants-2026► "this is complete madness in constantly shifting stylistic forms" - Power Metal
powermetal.de/review/review-DefectDesigner/Depressants,46395,46182.html