{"id":7572,"date":"2015-09-07T16:24:33","date_gmt":"2015-09-07T16:24:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-defeater-abandoned\/"},"modified":"2015-09-07T16:24:33","modified_gmt":"2015-09-07T16:24:33","slug":"album-review-defeater-abandoned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-defeater-abandoned\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Defeater –\u00a0Abandoned"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"It\u2019s strange to think that Defeater<\/strong> are as well known for the concept behind their music as the music itself. A lot of bands wouldn\u2019t want to give off the impression that they\u2019re shackled to a concept, and indeed, sometimes it can severely limit their scope. Having previously stated that all of their work would take place within the conceptual framing of exploring the life of a working class New Jersey family living in post-World War II America, you would think that Derek Archambault and his band would be treading water at this stage. There\u2019s only so much that can be gleaned from such a narrative, after all. Perhaps the most surprising thing about \u2018Abandoned\u2019<\/em>, the Bostonians\u2019 fourth full-length and their debut for Epitaph, is how liberated it sounds. Archambault is clearly firing on all cylinders: this is his second 2015 release following side-project Alcoa\u2019s ‘Parlour Tricks\u2019 earlier this year.<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

The album focuses on the story of a lapsed Catholic priest who fought during the war, opening on a pessimistic and insular note (‘Contrition\u2019<\/i>) as he fails to reconcile his warlike actions with his faith (\u201cForgive me, my Father, for I am a sinner\u201d<\/i>) and details his slide into faithlessness and despair. It\u2019s a dark, bleak and unrelenting document of one man\u2019s figurative descent into hell, and while the band\u2019s sound has been cleaned up slightly (with guitarist and in-house producer Jay Maas guiding the band towards a more expansive sound), this just means that the intense narrative can have significantly greater impact than before. The \u201cmelodic\u201d side of their melodic hardcore tag has been brought to the fore, with ‘Spared In Hell\u2019<\/i> and ‘Remorse\u2019<\/i> providing strong hooks and glimpses of the band\u2019s heightened ambition.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

Every member of the band has their moment in the spotlight, but drummer Joe Longobardi is probably the star of the record – behind Archambault and his relentless, barked vocal delivery, of course – and the punchy sound of his expressive playing provides the album\u2019s backbone as it races towards climax on penultimate track ‘Atonement\u2019<\/i>, possibly the high point of Defeater\u2019s career thus far. Closer ‘Vice & Regret\u2019<\/i>, meanwhile, acts as a fittingly dramatic finale as the record plumbs new depths of introspection and bleakness, coming full circle with an explosive reprise of the opening track. The band haven\u2019t ever sounded as devastatingly powerful as this, and ‘Abandoned\u2019<\/em> should bring them legions of new fans, all eager to explore the rest of the compelling and emotional story that is Defeater<\/b>\u2019s lifeblood. Four albums in, they\u2019ve taken things to the next level.<\/p>\n

4\/5<\/p>\n

‘Abandoned\u2019<\/em> by Defeater<\/strong> is out now on Epitaph Records<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Defeater<\/strong> links: Website<\/a>|Facebook<\/a>|Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n

Words by Gareth O’Malley (@vetusmemoria<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s strange to think that Defeater are as well known for the concept behind their music as the music itself. A lot of bands wouldn\u2019t want to give off the impression that they\u2019re shackled to a concept, and indeed, sometimes it can severely limit their scope. Having previously stated that all of their work would […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14817,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[4800,1101,126],"class_list":["post-7572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews","tag-abandoned","tag-defeater","tag-epitaph-records"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAlbum Review: Defeater -\u00a0Abandoned - Already Heard Staging<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It\u2019s strange to think that Defeater are as well known for the concept behind their music as the music itself. 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