DEAFHEAVEN IN CONCERT:
Deafheaven merge the extreme sounds of black metal and shoegaze to create an aural onslaught guaranteed to blow ticket buyers away. Guitarist Kerry McCoy pours pure blood, sweat, and tears into his hellfire riffs and pummeling breakdowns before exposing an unexpected fragility with soothing instrumental interludes and shimmering ambient passages. These moments of calm lull audiences only briefly, before vocalist George Clarke unleashes his blood-curdling scream to ratchet the intensity back up to 10. Clarke dances around the stage on introspective and self-loathing anthems like “Sunbather”, “Dream House”, and “Unrequited”, while frenzied fans mosh along to the mayhem. Deafheaven’s soul searching, speaker-destroying brand of blackgaze gives fans seeking a brutal live sound a hard-driving bang for their buck.
BACKGROUND SNAPSHOT:
After leaving San Francisco grindcore band Rise of Caligula, vocalist George Clarke and guitarist Kerry McCoy began to explore the more exotic fringes of metal in 2010 with Deafheaven. Using borrowed equipment and $500 of studio time, the duo recorded an untitled demo album before forming a full band. By year’s end they were signed to the Deathwish Inc. label, which released the group’s 2011 debut album Roads to Judah. The record received a warm response, though it was nothing compared to the overwhelming acclaim for their 2013 sophomore album Sunbather. Openly dealing with the band members’ insecurities and personal issues, the album was named best of the year by influential outlets like Metacritic and Treble. Unfazed by the hype, Deafheaven have kept the axe to the grindstone, thrilling live audiences with their extreme performances and stellar recorded material, including 2015’s New Bermuda.