Defeater
Abandoned

It is August 28, 2015, when, fresh from a new contract with Epitaph (which recently added truly valid bands like Pianos Become The Teeth and The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die to its roster), the Bostonians Defeater release their fourth album, Abandoned. Those who already know them will know that all Defeater productions have always thematically followed a very particular concept, namely the narration of the events of a post-war American family in a sea of problems and harrowing personal stories. Needless to say, this album also expands the vast storyline related to the aforementioned family (incidentally, singer Derek Archimbault declared in an interview that this will be the case as long as the band goes on), but this time, quite unprecedentedly, the protagonist will be a character outside the family, a priest who, after witnessing the horrors of war, falls into despair and loss of faith. It could, by the way, be the priest mentioned in 'Cowardice', the closing track of the group's first album.

The proposed concept, aside from being already very fascinating in itself, offers the vocalist excellent cues from which to draw very touching and profound lyrics. To cite a few, I would include "I've been hoping on death, faith forgotten in theft. Years of heartache and guilt haunting my sleep. No Holy Spirit. No resurrection. No Salvation." (from 'Atonement'), or " Glory be, bloodline buried. I am no one. I am nothing. Forgive me my Father, for I am a sinner. Unanswered. Abandoned." (from 'Vice & Regret'). As usual, the band offers the perfect accompaniments for lyrics with such great emotional charge, once again imprinting their trademark on that highly emotionally impactful hardcore that has become increasingly personal over the years, reaching with this 'Abandoned' one of their major qualitative peaks. Indeed, according to the writer, this latest album only falls short to the second 'Empty Days And Sleepless Nights', which I consider the most inspired work of the Boston quintet.

The atmosphere in this album is oppressive, almost claustrophobic. The drumming is almost always pounding, while the guitars move always with very low and touching tones. Archimbault's vocals are more raw and powerful compared to what we were used to, and, although at first they may leave one a bit bewildered, as the listens go by they become increasingly convincing and moving. The only song that deviates from this pattern is 'Atonement', which, with the juxtaposition of calm and peaceful melodies and harsh and oppressive lyrics (as you can ascertain from the excerpt above), creates a very interesting contrast that differentiates the aforementioned song from the others present on this album.

Starting with the intro 'Contrition', which immediately involves the listener with the incessant repetition of the lyrics "Forgive me, my father, for I am a sinner. Unanswered, abandoned" (words that, as you may have guessed, are also found in some of the subsequent tracks and the finale of the last one), the best songs of the lot are the second track "Unanswered", "Spared In Hell" (released as the first single), and the already mentioned 'Atonement' and 'Vice And Regret' (the concluding track of the album), all songs that have now rightfully entered among the very best of the group.

In conclusion, this 'Abandoned' constitutes yet another show of strength for a group that, with its personal formula of emotional hardcore, has now carved out a prestigious space in the contemporary hardcore scene. For the umpteenth time, well done, Defeater, well done.