Defective Epitaph is a 2007 album by the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 one-man black metal

Black metal

Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....

 act Xasthur

Xasthur

Xasthur was a Californian one-man black metal band formed in 1995 by Scott Conner, who goes by the pseudonym "Malefic". Although similar in terms of low-fi production and the wearing of corpse paint, musically and lyrically Xasthur's focus is usually not on paganism, Satanism or anti-Christian...

. This is the first recording on which Malefic played acoustic drums, although some tracks still make use of a drum machine

Drum machine

A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...

. Like previous Xasthur albums, the lyrics were not released to the public ("The lyrics are unavailable upon request" inside the CD box). It was described by one reviewer as Xasthur's most accessible release to date. The Japanese edition released on Daymare Recordings features a bonus disc containing 5 unreleased tracks.

Track listing

• All Songs Written & Arranged By Xasthur

1. "Soulless Elegy" – 2:42
2. "Purgatory Spiral" – 4:29
3. "Cemetery of Shattered Masks" – 6:03
4. "Malignant Prophecy" – 5:40
5. "Oration of Ruin" – 7:23
6. "Legacy of Human Irrelevance" – 5:36
7. "Dehumanizing Procession" – 4:52
8. "Funerals Drenched in Apathy" – 5:29
9. "Worship (The War Against) Yourself" – 7:34
10. "A Memorial to the Waste of Life" – 8:44
11. "The Only Blood That Pours Is Yours" – 8:15
12. "Unblessed Be" – 8:13

Japanese bonus disc

1. "Untitled/Unreleased" - 3:24
2. "Untitled/Unreleased" - 5:45
3. "Morder Gjenklang Av Tankegangen" - 10:54
4. "Funerals Drenched in Apathy / Soulless Elegy (First Attempt)" - 9:28
5. "Awakening to the Unknown Perception of Evil (Second Attempt)" - 8:02

Personnel

• Malefic: Vocals, Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Keyboards, Synthesizers, Bass, Drums, Percussion, Drum Programming