Infinite Granite

Deafheaven

Deafheaven have made a name for themselves propelling this wave of atmospheric black metal; a genre that incorporates the blaring walls of sound found in shoegaze as well as the long winded and crescendo building song structures typically associated with post-rock. Ever since the band's landmark album, 2013's Sunbather, they seemed to have steadily drifted away from black metal in favour of the other genres I have mentioned. On the band's new album, this metamorphosis seems to be complete as Infinite Granite contains no black metal elements whatsoever; the album isn't even vaguely metal sounding. The wretched screams are almost all gone, the distorted walls of guitar chords are replaced with shimmering, modulated clean guitars, and the blast beats are a thing of the past. Deafheaven today seems like a far cry from the band they used to be. To be clear, however, undergoing a change in sound so boldly from one album to the next is very admirable in my opinion. Deafheaven seemed like the type of band that could've easily been pigeonholed and it also seems like the band has been trying their hardest to avoid that to which I give them a lot of credit. With that being said, is Infinite Granite the successful break from metal the band may have been shooting for? In my humble opinion, it unfortunately misses the mark.

Right off the bat, I will say that hearing George Clarke's singing is actually not bad. It's quiet, a little reserved, perhaps a little one-dimensional as the style of vocal doesn't really change throughout the record, but I do think it has quite a bit of personality. The vocals also have a bit of a goth, melodramatic flair that simultaneously feels familiar to me as a fan of Deafheaven, but also plays really well against this new setting the band is presenting. I wasn't really prepared for Clarke to completely drop the screaming, however, if he developed a few more vocal delivery styles the way I know he has a few different screaming techniques, Clarke could become quite the dynamic vocalist.

One element that could have benefited from an update in this new context is the drums. I think Daniel Tracy is a fantastic drummer and when I get around to talking about Sunbather, I will go on and on singing his praises. On this new record though, I can't help but feel like Tracy is the drummer at the wrong gig. The sound on this record is dreamier, there's more space, and unfortunately some of those more aggressive, fast metal drum fills feel awkward in this context. If you'll allow me to go on, the drum production also feels off. As I just said, the sound is dreamier and yet the snare is still that high pitched crack that immediately decays after being struck. This sound makes sense when you have blaring walls of sound and you need that snare to cut through, but in this context it sounds thin and weak.

The main criticism I have of this record really just has to do with the songwriting overall. Nearly every track here as failed to really make an impression on me. Those modulated, clean guitars kind of get old pretty quick and the melodies weren't really grabbing my attention. The only time a melody caught my ear was on the song Lament For Wasps where I really liked Clarke's vocal melody in the lead up to the louder rock passage of the song. The guitar lead during this louder section was also nice on both the melody and tone front. For the most part though, it felt like the album was always trying to go somewhere bigger and better, but never really did. It just stayed the same. On the longer tracks that clock in around seven or so minutes, this can be rather aggravating.

The album culminates with Mombasa which was easily my favourite track on the record. Right from the outset, it feels different. We have two acoustic guitars playing complimentary parts and a clean electric guitar, still soaked in reverb but the modulation effects that have become kind of a gimmick at this point are gone. The drum sound and mixing on this tune makes way more sense and Tracy actually seems like he's in the right place. I also really love this bubbling arpeggiated synth sound that comes in and out. Now, I said that the band has done away entirely with the black metal elements and that was a bit of a lie because you'll be shocked to learn (or at least you would've been shocked had I not told you) that this track actually builds up to a stellar metal finish where the wretched vocals and blast beats make a return. For the first and only time on this record, the song actually feels like it's going somewhere and that climax really paid off.

Deafheaven's Infinite Granite overall left me with slightly negative feelings. There wasn't a moment I absolutely hated on the record but the drums and the slow builds to nothing caused me to go from indifferent to mildly frustrated. The last track though was evidence enough that the band can still craft exciting music. They perhaps just have to go back to the drawing board if they want to continue eschewing the more metal presentations that earned them their following throughout their career.