Deafheaven - Demo (2010)

San Francisco’s Deafheaven aren’t groundbreakingly original, but are good at what they do while not falling into any of the aforementioned groups. Instead, they’re more in the vein of Alcest, Fen, and other black metal groups prone to mixing the peak-and-valley dynamics of post-rock music in with the genre standards of shrieked vocals. Intentionally or not, the band maintains a healthy amount of mystique, offering zero band member pictures, but wisely sidesteps the condescending pretention and dramaticism of select peers and just go for the throat. “Libertine Dissolves” blazes right into fast riffing and howling vocals, and is then nicely offset by the acoustic instrumental “Bedrooms.” “Daedalus” offers some enjoyable tempo changes while maintaining plenty of blasting sections. Epic closer “Exitenied” introduces a conversation of acoustic guitars before returning to a wash of speed, then decays into a wallowing section that shambles to its end.

Stylistically, Deafheaven know what they’re doing and do it well. Some time dedicated to honing their voice will ultimately lend them more longevity. Still, for being merely a four-track demo, dudes have their shit together.

origin:
United States of America
Current line-up
George Clarke - Vocals
Kerry McCoy - Guitars