Band's List Avantgardiste Black Deafheaven Sunbather

Black metal meets post rock/shoegaze is all the rage in metal circles today, and myself admit to being sucked into the craze. I find that when this style is done right it can create some of the most beautiful and emotional atmospheres within the metal scene, with bands such as Agalloch and Fen instantly coming to mind. Deafheaven is another band riding the waves created by bands such as Alcest and hopes to gain their own foothold within the post black metal territory.

Yet whilst Deafheaven are no doubt capable of creating long, beautiful and emotional post rock inspired pieces, I hardly see them making a serious mark in the black metal scene. Simply for the fact that they are not a black metal band, I hate to break it to their supports but nothing about Sunbather has much to do with what black metal is typically associated with. Instead, Sunbather seems to focus on a similar wavelength to Envy’s Insomniac Doze rather than anything black metal related. This isn’t to say that this is a bad thing, whilst I’m admittedly a huge fan of black metal, I also greatly enjoy post rock inspired screamo such as the aforementioned Envy and Deafheaven do a great job within that field.

The songs have post rock structures interposed with harsh guitars and screamed vocals. Songs are constantly flowing, similar to a band like Isis. Songs range from harsher, more metallic sections to subtle, post rock inspired sections. This gives the album a sense of forward momentum, as similar to sharks, Sunbather’s purpose is solely to continue moving forward. Songs never feel languid or drawn out, the long structures allow for multiple interesting transitions to happen within each song, maintaining the listeners interest as no single idea is settled on enough to wear out its welcome.

The overall atmosphere of this album is rather bright and pleasant. There’s no shred of malice or hatred buried within the music. The post rock instrumentals are light and airy, bringing to mind are lighter version of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Whilst I know that this a relatively generic comparison to make, the monolithic compositions and soothing instrumental passages are highly reminiscent of said band. The harsh, metallic sections are often compared to Liturgy or Weakling yet I am not seeing it. These sections are much better compared to Envy, even the vocals sound like a higher pitched Tetsuya Fukagawa. Being a big fan of Envy I must say that I enjoy the similarities in style and most certainly are not carbon copies of one another. Deafheaven mix the screamo/post rock ethos in with slight leanings towards black metal. The vocals in particular are delivered in a harsh, shrieking style whilst some of the guitar’s compositions bring to mind bands such as Altar of Plagues and Wolves in the Throne Room with their long and droning sense of melody. The guitar tone I suppose can be considered quite blackish, having a fair amount of distortion with it. Yet it never sounds muddy or abrasive, rather the distortion is more soothing rather than barbaric and primal. The monolithic track Vertigo in particular brings Deafheaven’s black metal influences into the forefront, with a solo that wouldn’t be out of place on an Agalloch album and a particularly frantic and relentless drum performance. The guitars themselves have a much darker tone than the rest of the album and are played in the traditional tremolo picked style. The occasional upbeat, melodic section coincides perfectly with the rest of this track and overall makes for an enjoyable listen.

Yet despite all the outstanding moments of Sunbather there is one, minor flaw. Some of the sections go on for too long. It’s not a particularly glaring problem, but it’s enough to stop me from considering this an absolute masterpiece. Whilst the riffs in their own right are good enough, I personally don’t feel that they make for good, hypnotic drones. They’re not structured well enough for this kind of droning, post rock inspired material. The harsh sections would work better in short, frantic blasts of energy rather than a continuous drone. Altar of Plagues is a band who can do this kind of finesse, droning pieces interposed with a good sense of structure, melodies that never become bothersome and overall just a general idea on how to construct long, monolithic songs. Deafheaven, whilst undoubtedly creating very beautiful and entertaining music, specifically in the first half of the album, unfortunately begin to lose some of their momentum by the end of Vertigo.

It’s a shame really, as Sunbather definitely contains elements of outstanding music. The post rock sections are beautiful and work well in conjunction with the metallic crash of the harsher sections. The first three tracks constitute some of the best music released this year, with absolutely gorgeous atmospheres and some stunning melodies. The vocals, whilst often becoming one dimensional, are very powerful and expressive. Sunbather is a definite leap from the somewhat mediocre Roads of Judah and will undoubtedly receive critical acclaim throughout the board. Yet whilst I am immune to some of the ecstatic praise leveled at this album, I greatly enjoy it, and would definitely urge open minded metalheads to listen to this album. Whilst it’s not a masterpiece, it’s close and I will most certainly be playing this much more in the future.