I’m not much for walking into snowy forests burning incense, plucking my beard and wonder at nature - but listening to this band does evoke the feeling and I’ll never not love it. They’re sometimes slow and gracious, crawling on thick layers of synths and guitars, and then fast and empowering like crushing sheets of glass.
They can still surprise, huh? I didn’t know what to make of the singles. I didn’t think the first one was any good, but I liked ‘The Gnashing’. The record as a whole makes more sense, as it’s a melancholic statement that’s new and fresh, and at the same time pure Deafheaven. I do miss ‘Black Brick’ Deafheaven, but that doesn’t mean that Infinite Granite isn’t worth your time.
Another record that will need a little (more) time to digest. BTBAM is a band I love deeply, but they’ve kind of lost me the last five, six years. Bringing back the raw energy of Colors into this decade seems a good starting point for a new record. But is it enough? It is at times.
There’s more: Sodom (thrash from Germany), a split from
Portrayal of Guilt & Chat Pile (black/screamo from the USA & noiserock/sludge from the USA),
Silent Thunder (ambient black from the USA - this dude is also behind Lamp of Murmuur),
Ox en Mayo Alto (🌶️ post everything from Argentina),
Woman is the Earth (black from the USA),
Necronautical (black from the UK - with the guitarist from Winterfylleth, drumming here),
Ushangvagush (🌶️ raw black from the USA),
Arcane Existence (🌶️ melodic black/death from the USA),
Arkenfire (heavy from Canada),
Despondent Moon (black from the UK),
Sarcoughagus (stoner/death from the USA) and a live album from
Ulver (🌶️ experimental electronic from Norway).