By Dustin Carroll
There’s really no better term to describe Deafheaven’s latest release other than ‘game-changer’. As silly as it sounds, this album really will be the focal point of inspiration for countless carbon copy bands over the next few years. The same way that Nine Inch Nails’ “Pretty Hate Machine”, Nirvana’s “Nevermind”, and Metallica’s “Black Album” took what was previously an underground sound, aesthetic, and mood, and thrust it forcefully into the awaiting minds and ears of the mainstream music audience, so too does Sunbather embark on a journey that will gain this band legions of both admiring followers, and jaded haters.
On past albums, Deafheaven have always surged elements of black metal with shoegaze and post-rock to create multi-layered pieces that went back and forth between beautiful and sinister. On this record however, Deafheaven take black metal stylistic songwriting, and infuse it with copious amounts of post-rock atmosphere, post-punk grooves, and pop sensibilities. Major chords and scales playing through textbook blackened progressions give the album an unusually bright, vibrant aesthetic. It should be remembered that this band are from California, not Norway, so this makes sense when viewed from a geographical sense, as black metal so often is. What really stands out on this release though, is the way the group effortlessly make everything flow together seamlessly, never repeating a movement, always progressing forward, from blast beats and harsh screams through interludes of noise and voice sampling (featuring Neige from Alcest/Les Discrets reading a passage from The Unbearable Likeness of Being), through acoustic passages and machine-like dirges.
This is the album that bands like Liturgy have been trying to create for years; a grandeur fusion of all of the best elements from Emperor and Mogwai, while retaining a sense of individuality and purpose (and without the manifestos). An instant classic in the modern American metal scene.
