ALBUM REVIEW: Defeater – Defeater

Concept albums get a bad wrap given that they are often bloated and difficult to follow, if they can be followed at all. DEFEATER have been weaving a concept for their entire career, as they weave the bleak tales of a family doomed and how their intertwining lives unfold. For anyone new to DEFEATER, don’t fear, you don’t need to catch up on the other albums before this one like it were Game of Thrones (although you should still do that, DEFEATER have an unbelievably good back catalogue). For anyone who has followed the band though, their newest self title will offer another heartfelt addition to their woeful story, alongside some of the most arresting post-hardcore to be released this year.

The Worst Of Fates opens the album with a pacing and slow intro, but the emotion drips from every note, and the bleak atmosphere is cold, but it welcomes you in with the lyrics from vocalist Derek Archambault. His storytelling is vivid, and whilst it prolongs the 11 year story DEFEATER have been crafting, the lyrics are written with enough ambiguity for new fans to digest, and for casual fans to enjoy without feeling lost in the story.

There is a tangible pain that falls off of every word in Atheists In Foxholes as the degenerating music slowly swells before a final fast pace hurrah towards the end. This emotional peak is hit multiple times throughout the record, and when partnered with a powerful rhythm section tracks like Mothers’ Sons hits like a tonne of bricks and hurts just as much. The pace is well kept given that some of the songs clock in at the shorter end of the spectrum, and given the album just barely eclipses 30 minutes, this is a bite size album that packs enough value to keep you coming back. Even the production, which puts Archambault‘s vocals in the middle of the mix and purposefully doesn’t make it dominant. Whilst it takes some getting used to, once the aesthetic of the sound settles in, the music is amplified thanks to the rougher sounds reflecting the tumultuous story DEFEATER are trying to tell.

This self-titled journey is just that, an emotional and musically rewarding journey. There is enough on Defeater to reveal new moments which each passing listen, and with triumphant moments like Desperate providing instant highlights, it means that DEFEATER have continued their decade long trend of not writing bad albums. Defeater is challenging listen for those who have followed the band as you try to piece together the stories from album to album, and for those new to the band, Defeater is an arresting and investing album that should open the door to a brand new obsession.

Rating: 8/10

Defeater is out now via Epitaph Records.

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