Julian Balboa // Contributing Writer
Ah, the harmonically cacophonic sound of church bells. It generally signifies the beginning of something. The beginning of a morning, the beginning of a (hopefully) long-lasting marriage, and the beginning of Deafheaven’s opening track, “Brought to the Water”, to their third LP, “New Bermuda.”
Deafheaven have established their reputation as one of the premiere black metal bands in the scene right now. They proved that they can pack a punch on their debut, “Roads to Judah,” introducing their sound as a mix between the symphonic and often somber genre of post-rock and the emotional, abrasive and ridiculously misunderstood genre of black metal.
The band often cites Emperor and Alcest as influences in their sound (Stephane Paut of Alcest even provides additional vocals on the band’s follow-up, “Sunbather”), but I’d be lying by saying that they were influenced entirely by two bands. With a sound like Deafheaven’s, it’s obvious that they have listened to a lot of music outside post-metal and black metal. Some of the interludes you hear in their music have acoustic guitars and pianos, which bring to mind groups like Wilco and The Smiths. It’s interesting how it all comes into play once you hear a song and take it all in for what it’s worth because when you hear a guitar riff that makes you think of Johnny Marr’s elegant jangly tones or piano chords coinciding with a shake of a tambourine that spring to mind Jeff Tweedy’s ear for acoustic rhythm, you begin to hear it and understand it in the context of where it appears. The music that they find themselves casually listening to find their way into their own music, as different as it may appear to be at first listen.
Their sophomore album, “Sunbather,” catapulted them into stardom. “Sunbather” made headlines for being one of the most critically acclaimed albums of that year amongst all genres across many different outlets that review and cover music, and for good reason. “Sunbather” was a fantastic album, albeit a little overrated/overshadowed by all the acclaim it garnered, that showed raw emotion and significant progression in a band that already impressed listeners with their debut. Think of it this way: If “Roads to Judah” was “A New Hope,” then “Sunbather” was “The Empire Strikes Back.“ But if that’s the case, and here’s the real question, then is “New Bermuda” anything like “Return of the Jedi?”
The simple answer is no and that’s a good thing. “Return of the Jedi” is disappointing and “New Bermuda” Is not, at all. Movies aside, “New Bermuda” is a natural follow-up to “Sunbather,“ which takes the band’s black metal outfit and adds the personality of the thrash metal scene from the ‘80s. The beginning track, “Brought to the Water”, comes in at full-force with a galloping speed reminiscent of bands like Slayer, Testament and Vio-Lence; whose lead vocalist, George Clarke, cites as influences for “New Bermuda’s” overarching sound. The main riff in this song, coming in around the middle of the track, is catchy like a lot of thrash riffs and the use of a tremolo pedal brings a thematic touch to the song. You’ll find moments like this all over the album: the intro to “Baby Blue”, the outro to “Come Back” and the entirety of “Gifts for the Earth,” which is the best ending to an album I’ve heard this year and my favorite song on the album. If you’re looking for another album like “Sunbather,“ you won’t find it on this album. Sure, the interludes that were present on “Sunbather” are also present on “New Bermuda,” but they’re always much more brief than they are on “Sunbather.” A track the band released last year as a part of Adult Swim’s Singles Collection for 2014, “From the Kettle onto the Coil,” was perhaps the biggest teaser for where Deafheaven was looking to take the direction of their sound to.
The one thing about this album I love the most is that it is easily Deafheaven’s most accessible album in their discography. Granted, black metal is a rather difficult genre to get into for the average Mac DeMarco or La Luz fan, but for metal fans that are more accustomed to thrash or classic heavy metal such as Black Sabbath, Pantera, or Judas Priest, this is the next step in their evolving music palette. Even metal fans that are into death metal bands like Atheist, Death or Gorguts may find themselves enjoying this album. It’s fast, aggressive and catchy; things that “New Bermuda” succeeds in with flying colors and offers more to fans that wanted something with a kick in its step than “Sunbather” did.
Overall, while it’s easy to make comparisons to “Sunbather,” “New Bermuda” is a different beast altogether. It shouldn’t be dismissed as a better album than its predecessor, but, rather, it should be approached as “which is more enjoyable?” because I feel they’re both on the same level of quality. It’s a candidate for album of the year within the metal world, alongside Between the Buried and Me’s “Coma Ecliptic,” Napalm Death’s “Easy Meat” and Tribulation’s “Children of the Night,” as well as overall album of the year. For right now, though, “New Bermuda” is the band’s best addition to their ever-growing discography and still sees the band progressing even further on an upward slope.
Standout tracks: All five of them.
Score: 4.5/5
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