Deafheaven are one of the latest American bands to continue an exciting new wave of black metal. This, their debut album, shows obvious influences from the post-rock and shoegaze genres. "Violet" opens the album with a slow, warm swirl of beautiful guitar melodies - before the blastbeats kick in and vocalist George Clarke begins to howl tirelessly and at full force. But this flurry of aggression and despair doesn't come with the intention of taking the listener by surprise. Instead it comes off as a logical progression within the context of the song.
"Roads to Judah" consists of four tracks and clocks in at around thirty-eight minutes overall. The songs are lengthy, but they don't overstay their welcome. The post-rock influence is apparent in the way that these songs expand and contract. Every track here builds up to a climax and successfully balances out fury with moody reflection. This is a dramatic record in every sense of the word. "Roads to Judah" evokes euphoria, melancholia and rage - sometimes all at once. "Tunnel of Trees" turns "Violet" on its head, beginning with a galloping burst of guitars, drums and screams before retracting into a meditative calm, exploding into a huge crescendo once more and finally winding down the album with a simplistic yet decorative keyboard outro.
The band improves upon their already excellent 2010 demo release with this debut. The songs have much more room to breathe and evolve. The vocals are buried deeper within the mix too, and as a result there's a stronger feeling of harmonious interplay between the musicians. Deafheaven favour beauty over brutality with "Roads to Judah". It's exciting that a record which can be loosely defined as "black metal" can sound so inviting. It does well to demonstrate that this kind of music doesn't have to be ugly or unapproachable to newcomers. This is one of 2011's highlights and is thoroughly recommended to anyone who is interested in powerful, emotive or grand music.
"Roads to Judah" is out now on Deathwish.
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