Deafheaven are not the first band to blend ambient shoegaze elements with
black metal (in some respects it's a sensible pairing), but
2013's Sunbather certainly made it seem that way, the album racing to
the top of critics' best-of lists and gaining the band quite a following
(and, predictably, some detractors that question the metal-ness of the
effort).
It can be a tough listen, with five songs over 9 minutes in length, and
at times it sounds like two different bands at work, with several of the
songs being outright black metal (like the title track) while others
are meandering soundscapes that sometimes take a bit too long to develop.
Yet the accolades are not undeserving, Sunbather is well-crafted and
well worth a listen.
To the band's credit, they did not rest on their laurels for the followup,
New Bermuda.
Just as the band's previous output was a bit different from Sunbather,
so is New Bermuda markedly different from its predecessor, going for
a far more aggressive approach, toning down the ambient parts and in fact
also lessening the traditional
black metal aspect of the band, even though the album
overall is far more aggressive in its approach.
This is still a pretty young band and they've already shown a tendency
to branch out in different directions, so it'll be interesting to see where
they go next.
Recent album: Lonely People With Power,
released on March 28, 2025.
