Defeater in the studio

3 September 2010 | 1:39 pm | Staff Writer
Originally Appeared In

Massachusetts-based Defeater has been making waves in the heavy music scene since their inception in 2007. The band, known for their narrative writing style and avant-garde take on hardcore, began the recording process last week for their second full-length album. This new album (title TBA) will follow the same conceptual format as their prior releases, 2008’s Travels and 2009’s Lost Ground EP, and will be another musically precise album that will redefine the term “forward-thinking music”. Vocalist Derek Archambault said, “While I can’t give up all of the details on the storyline quite yet, let’s just say that this new album will incorporate themes and characters that the listener has been introduced to already, in addition to bringing some new stuff into the mix. The writing process thus far has been very personally gratifying and I can’t wait to have another chapter of Defeater’s story out for the world to hear.” The band will spend the next month holed up at Getaway Recording S...

Massachusetts-based Defeater has been making waves in the heavy music scene since their inception in 2007. The band, known for their narrative writing style and avant-garde take on hardcore, began the recording process last week for their second full-length album. This new album (title TBA) will follow the same conceptual format as their prior releases, 2008’s Travels and 2009’s Lost Ground EP, and will be another musically precise album that will redefine the term “forward-thinking music”. Vocalist Derek Archambault said, “While I can’t give up all of the details on the storyline quite yet, let’s just say that this new album will incorporate themes and characters that the listener has been introduced to already, in addition to bringing some new stuff into the mix. The writing process thus far has been very personally gratifying and I can’t wait to have another chapter of Defeater’s story out for the world to hear.”


The band will spend the next month holed up at Getaway Recording Studio in Wakefield, MA, interestingly enough with their guitarist, Jay Maas, at the helm recording/producing. Maas owns and operates that studio, and has recorded bands like Bane, Cruel Hand, Soul Control and many others there. Maas commented, “The scope of this record is likely the biggest undertaking I’ve done for any band I’ve engineered. The combination of being in Defeater and recording Defeater is great – I feel like my talents as an engineer have developed to a very professional place, as have my skills as a songwriter.” Musically, Defeater’s new material will “…sound like Defeater. Like Lost Ground, we don’t want to be afraid of trying something new and writing something that ‘doesn’t sound like us’”, said Maas. Archaumbault continued, “Having Jay on board working on the record in addition to being in the band is great and gives us creative control over all facets of the record from start to finish. I’m already really happy with where we are at thus far in the writing and recording process and I can’t wait to announce the surprises we have in store for this album.”


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With two releases already under their belt and tours across the globe with bands like Polar Bear Club, Comeback Kid and Make Do and Mend, 2011 is sure to be the biggest and best year in Defeater’s career thus far. And while something called “a new artistic peak for hardcore” (Punknews.org) and “the perfect definition of modern hardcore” (Lambgoat.com) will be hard to top, this second full-length effort is sure to do it. Look for this yet-to-be-titled album to hit shelves in early 2011 and stay tuned for upcoming tour announcements for Defeater in North America and abroad.