Deafheaven is a San Francisco, California blackgaze & post-metal band consisting of guitarist Kerry McCoy, drummer Daniel Tracy, guitarist/keyboardist Shiv Mehra, bassist Chris Johnson & frontman George Clarke. Being introduced to the at the end of my sophomore year of high school when Sunbather succeeded what Roads to Judah was going for. New Bermuda as well as Ordinary Corrupt Human Love & Infinite Granite were all incredible in their own regards, looking to make their debut for Roadrunner Recordswith the quintet’s 6th studio album.

After the “Incidental” intro, the first song “Doberman” begins with a cryptically introspective opener confessing his own fear whereas the lead single “Magnolia” viciously blends atmospheric black metal & thrash metal singing about the loss of a father figure. “The Garden Route” returns to their blackgaze origins wanting the world to see their growth as songwriters since Infinite Granite prior to the 2nd & final single “Heathen” secondarily explores post-metal, dream pop, post-rock & post-punk to put ourselves in the shoes of a person who’s given up on themselves.

“Amethyst” proves to be the most vital representation of Lonely People with Power giving a fresh take on the beloved post-metal subgenre these guys popularized thematically basing itself around the LP’s own artwork while “Revelator” after the 2nd “Incidental” intermission takes a look at the inside of Kerry’s mind throughout a great deal of the studio sessions making this. “Body Behavior” painfully dissects all of George’s insecurities while “Winona” following the final “Incidental” intermission takes 7 & half minutes to sing about being left with emptiness in the end. “The Marvelous Orange Tree” on the other hand finishes up with a swan song without redemption walking into blackness.

Rather than distancing themselves further from the blackgaze sound Deafheaven has become known for like Infinite Granite did, Kerry & company take it back to their origins for their inaugural LP under Roadrunner describing the globe in general to be Lonely People with Power in addition to them prioritizing post-metal post-rock, screamo & black metal as secondary influences harnessing roughly every different idea they’ve had for 15 years using a similarly precise execution that made Sunbather so special during my adolescence over a decade ago except it’s pushing more boundaries than what became my introduction to blackgaze had initially done.

Score: 4.5/5

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