How Deafheaven Released One Of 2013’s Best Metal Albums

Go and look at any poll of the top heavy albums of 2013 (there's plenty out there right now, I assure you), and more likely than not you'll see Deafheaven's sophomore release Sunbather in top spot. It'll at least be somewhere in the top ten, amongst a slew of old guard metal bands and new-wave post-metal acts. It's been one of the more confounding releases of the year – they might be seen as simply a metal-cum-shoegaze act, but Deafheaven are so much more, and it only takes a quick glance at the cover of Sunbather to prove it. Designed by Nick Steinhardt of Touché Amore, its glaring pink facade is decidedly not metal, not to mention just how much the lettering reminds you of Pulp's We Love Life. It's no coincidence.

“I mean, I know that from the get-go we didn't want to be a straightforward metal band,” Deafheaven's vocalist George Clarke explains from his home in San Francisco. “We wanted to approach certain aspects of our music in different ways that would, you know, kind of throw the traditional way of doing things for a loop. We wanted to improve upon, as much as possible, the things we liked about music so much in a way that was fluid and interesting. And because they were all these wildly different things, it led to something that we think is pretty unique. I like to think that with each release we get closer to finding that exact way we wanna be, while still evolving, if that makes sense. It's definitely nothing ever straightforward, but it's fun and interesting as well.”

Sunbather so easily could have been a failed exercise. Jamming black metal, post-rock and shoegaze together ten years ago would've been dangerous in the world of metal purism, but the current climate probably floated some of the album's success. Either way, since its release in June, Sunbather has been eaten up by both fans and critics. The heavy parts are incredibly loud and brutal, but they're punctuated with incredibly beautiful instrumental harmonies. The track lengths range from three to 15 minutes. Nothing is done traditionally, and that's probably what Deafhaven are most proud of. “We were raised on so much different music, and our interests were all over the place,” Clarke admits. “When it comes to making music, it feels a bit like we're cheating ourselves if we're not going to incorporate everything we enjoy ourselves."

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