Deafheaven - Sunbather

This is an old record dating back to 2013. I'd been only loosely aware of Deafheaven and although they'd come with a recommendation, I hadn't really put the time in. I liked this record when I listened to it, but I'd - incorrectly, as it turns out - filed it away under "ok metal". 

I bought the 10 year vinyl re-issue. And as we know, vinyl means I'm listening properly and not "grazing" it, and good lord has this record took on a new level now I've given it the time it deserved.

On the face of it, I can imagine its pretty rare to have metal music referred to as "beautiful" but I'm pretty sure I've done that before. And then there's black metal, which is like another level of intensity added in what would ostensibly appear to be a further move away from "beautiful". But again, I'm sure I've done that too.

But this is "blackgaze". A mix of black metal and shoegaze. "Surely we're going too far!" I hear you cry. But we're not - trust me, we're not.

This album is an emotional rollercoaster once you tune in to it.

It's layed out as a rollercoaster too. Heavy track, then interlude, then heavy track, etc.

There is texture within the heavy tracks, it's not just wall of sound. But it is also wall of sound. And an incredible noise it is too.

The appeal of shoegaze is in the tones and noises they manage to build. This appeals to the pedal geek in me because I want so very badly to make my obscene collection of pedals make a nice noise.

The appeal of black metal is the brutal simplicity and the emergent beauty from the cacaphony.

The lyrics explore some harrowing experiences and memories. And they do them justice.

Put it all together with their incredible musicianship and you can either sit and enjoy the rollercoaster, or you can get lost in the textures, stories, and the anguish. The more you listen to it, the more it errs towards the latter and you slowly start to realise quite how  astonishing a record this really is.