Review Summary: Frenetic chaotic punk unwinds its darkest tale yet
Nothing seems to suit the album better than the bands name. "Defeater". "Travels", simply put, is a tale of a mans defeat. It's a story where tragedy leads to tragedy that starts with a spark and ends in a blaze. I won't give away the story of "Travels", because, simply put, it is what ties the album together, and it's better to let the heaviness of the story resonate its full emotional impact.
The album mends frantic, urgent punk and melody almost seamlessly. Derek Archambault has one of the most emotionally charged voices in all of punk. It is enraged and full of despair all the meanwhile. This makes the album immensely powerful but when he is finished belting the story of tragedy, very bluesy melodic guitars tone down the anger and let everything settle in. This is best displayed with the magnificent closing track, "Cowardice", which is arguably one of the best songs in modern punk.
Musically the album isn't technical and it doesn't showcase any flashy talent, but it more than makes up for that with its sheer energy. It's by no means mindless blasting drums paired with sonically destructive mangled riffs like many hardcore bands do, but it's enough energy and passion to create interplay with the lyrics and emphasize the emotion. A great example is the opener "Blessed Burden". It's absolutely chaotic and slightly frenzied but in a controlled way that makes the lyrics shine even more.
Which is probably the focal point of this album. Musically the album is above average. Lyrically it is a abysmally dark story of a family during a world war. Although i've used this example before it is like a train without breaks. When you know the ride has started you are slightly panicked, but it grows ever more rapidly and feelings of despair and anger and fear all begin to expose themselves. Which is probably the best description of this album. An album of despair, anger, and fear.
I will admit the story only goes downhill from here and Defeater, aside from maybe "Empty Days and Sleepless Nights" doesn't ever live up to their master story telling again, as eventually the story is drawn out for far too long and becomes somewhat forced. But even despite this, the story did sprawl from a true gem, and its core is still one of the most emotional punk albums released.
