PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Since the release of their first album “Roads to Judah” in 2013, Deafheaven has been on my radar. This is a band that is black metal in essence but they broaden the genre by adding shoegaze, post-rock and a shitload of ambient. These genres definitely aren’t the easiest ones out there but in the hands of Deafheaven they blend to become a very steady and broad mix that oozes venom. Their latest release is “Sunbather” and combined with its pink album cover, you will notice it doesn’t scream black metal at all! “Sunbather” is an album that defines the genres mixed into Deafheaven’s thick sounds much more than “Roads to Judah”, but I am not doing an album review, so I will save that for another day.
We traveled down to the 013 venue in Tilburg (Netherlands) to put Deafheaven to the test; do they sound as ambient live as they do on the album? And do they sound as venomous as their albums appear to be? Tonight they were supported by the Dutch band Aderlating (translation: blood-letting). Their style is darkly ambient with a huge dose of nihilism and a deep sound of drone and noise.
Aderlating were sent on the stage to warm up the audience. We’ve asked ourselves if this was the most logical choice of band to start as a support, it is not the easiest sound they produce and it takes some patience and a concentrated listening to understand the layers in their music. This is not a band to listen to lightly and not really for a nice candlelit dinner. Even the most insane grindcore bands are more structured in their music than Aderlating. Their set evolved in a very interesting and abruptness in the music that was full of surprises. It became clear that the band blends influences from metal and the ambient part of the music. The band started with a mix of drone and noise with banging gongs which sounded pretty ominous and lurking. After 7 minutes or so we were surprised like thunder on a bright day. Some lurking and oozing black metal kicked in and gave a new dimension in the music. Was this the most logical choice of band to support Deafheaven? Well, from many perspectives it was. But like a lot of people we got pretty jaded after 2 songs (that seemed to have the duration of a world war) and some lost their patience. The music was supported by scenes of a cult film shown on the screen behind the band that really enhanced the feel of the music. This is a nice band to listen to and a great live experience if you have the patience to really take your time to listen. I think it was pretty much at the end of the show we went up to the merchandise to check it out. It wasn’t much though.
By the time Deafheaven was ready to start their show, the place was completely packed. Getting a beer when you stood in front of the stage wasn’t even an option, so we just stood there while we dried out. Deafheaven has a good loyal fanbase, but it still is a love it or hate it band. From the albums I can say I was pretty psyched to see this show and I grew very fond of this band. That is why we’ve expected a lot of this band, we were eager to see if they could live up to our expectations. Crazy enough there wasn’t your average black metal folks in the audience; it was more like the guy living next door could fit in just right. As soon the musicians started the show they appeared to be in some sort of a trance. The intro they started with came from “Sunbather” and through the rest of the song they gave an atmospheric vibe that sounded almost exactly as they sound on their album. Front man George Clarke put a lot of emotion into his delivery and movements on stage and he definitely looks like he could kill. On stage they were as in sync as they are on their albums, but that results in a shortage if it comes to a live performance. They could have had more lighting effects or images on stage to support the music and thereby give the audience even more. That being said, I have to say that Deafheaven do know how to transfer emotion to the audience, but at times it does seem a bit plastic. Near the end of the show we were afraid that they wouldn’t play any song from their first album. “Sunbather” dominated the entire set. Don’t get me wrong, Sunbather is a strong album with its easy intermezzos that strengthen and evolve with a thunderous guitar sound. The good thing about the show was that they did add the ambient pauses, but in a shorter way. To my delight, the very last song they played was from “Roads to Judah”. A word of advice for the next time they come to play, Deafheaven, the name says it all: take earplugs with you!
In conclusion, we had a nice evening. The bands were nice, but we had expected more out of this. I hope, the next time I see Deafheaven that they put more effort into the live experience rather than playing the songs from their album pitch perfect. At this moment I feel like I could have stayed at home and put “Sunbather” in my cd player.
And to answer my questions: Do they sound as ambient and venomous as they do on their albums? Yep Definitely, they don’t lack in musicality on stage at all.
