HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: Daggers – The Defiled
Formed in the murky depths of London back in 2005, THE DEFILED made their name in the underground by mixing groove laden metal and hardcore with grimy, gothic industrial influences. They were a band ahead of their time, creating dark and moody atmospheres with vivid lyrics, it could be argued that they were one of the more unique bands in the scene during late 2000s and early 2010s.
The band first gained serious traction when sort after demoes were traded by fans, then band released their debut 1888 EP, themed around the infamous and notorious Jack The Ripper murders that took place in that year. 2011 saw the band’s highly anticipated debut album Grave Times was released in January’s edition of Metal Hammer.
In that same year THE DEFILED would go on to headline the the Jägermeister stage at Sonisphere Festival and open the main stage at Bloodstock in the summer. At this point the band were made up of Stitch D (lead vocals, guitar), The AvD (programming, synthesisers, keyboards, backing vocals), Vincent Hyde (bass), Aaron Curse (guitar) and J.C. (drums), the band were hailed as one of the leaders of in a new wave of British metal along with bands such as BURY TOMORROW and WHILE SHE SLEEPS. This culminated in the quintet being nominated for the Best New British Band award in the Metal Hammer 2011 Golden Gods awards.
Having established themselves further with support slots alongside MURDERDOLLS, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, and STATIC-X to name a few, the band were on a significant trajectory. With this in mind, 2012 would see another relentlessly busy year for the band. The 7th March 2012 would see drummer J.C. leave the band and be replaced by Paul ‘Needles’ White (who became the band’s 12th and final drummer), after this THE DEFILED went on another packed festival circuit, notably with sets at South By South West and Download. Around this time, in June 2012 the band won Best New Band at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods awards and set up a PledgeMusic campaign to fund their second album Daggers.
The band hit their target with over a week to go and headed to Florida to record with producer Jason Suecof (TRIVIUM, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, ALL THAT REMAINS). March 13 saw THE DEFILED sign to Nuclear Blast to release the album. Alongside the new album, those who contributed to the album’s funding received a copy of the band’s only live album Grave Times Live, which was the band’s 2011 debut played in full live.
On the 2nd August (in Europe), 5th August (in the UK), 6th August (in the USA) 2013, Daggers was gradually unleashed upon the world. It was an album that saw the band expand upon their unique brand of metal and up the ante with their industrial elements. Alongside this, the album was considered to be more personal, emotive and introspective than its predecessor Grave Times. In a three part series on the Nuclear Blast YouTube channel, Stitch D and The AvD did a track-by-track break down confirming this point. With songs such as Sleeper, Unspoken, As I Drown, Porcelain and The Mourning After reflecting on these personal experiences.
The album received modest reviews, averaging 8/10 across the board and cemented itself in fans hearts of fans almost instantly. The more personal approach to their lyrics, a significantly faster pace and the amplified aggression in their riffs, Daggers cemented THE DEFILED’s place as one of the frontrunners in that crop of UK metalcore bands. It was a pioneering album that put the band on the ascendency in many people’s minds. Sadly though, the album would unintentionally become the band’s swan song. As a series of events would transpire in the years following its release.
After two tours in late 2013 and early 2014, guitarist Aaron Curse left the band with the Infected video effectively “killing him off”. They continued as a four piece, and in September 2014 they travelled to Greenland to film a live set on an iceberg, playing a 30-minute set which included songs from Daggers. They became the first band ever to play on a free-floating iceberg and are in the Guinness World Records for their efforts. With more touring and an EP/Album planned for 2016, on March 18 2016 the band released a statement saying that there was no fallouts in the band but financially the band has become untenable and thus was laid to rest.
With all that considered, it puts Daggers into perspective. It’s a story of a band’s potential just starting to reach the mainstream and ultimately ending up unfulfilled. A band seemingly marching quickly to the top of the UK’s metal scene and then completely fading out within two years of their sophomore album. Despite this, Daggers was and still is an incredible album in terms of what it achieved for the band, with many fans still passionately listening to the album ten years on. Now it feels like THE DEFILED have gained cult status amongst the metal scene and still passionately regarded as a band that sadly couldn’t unleash their full potential leaving us with a ton of “what ifs ?” that will sadly never be answered.
Daggers was originally released on August 2 2013 via Nuclear Blast.
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