June 9, 2021

Deafheaven - "Great Mass of Color"


After briefly teasing something on social media this week, the almighty Deafheaven are back! The band has announced their new record and shared the lead single.

Last year, Deafheaven were scheduled to tour in support of their ten year anniversary, however like pretty much everything else, that got cancelled. Instead they recorded a live album, 10 Years Gone, and headed back into the studio. The result is their new record, Infinite Granite. The immediate, striking difference on the lead single, "Great Mass of Color," from any prior piece of music from Deafheaven is lead singer George Clarke's stark change in vocal delivery. In the past, his black-metal scream launched Deafheaven into the stratosphere, but here his voice is soft and almost tranquil and their charged-up guitars are more subdued and balanced with glossy synths. Their sound is as massive and as mesmerizing as ever and still displays their incredible skill of tension and release style of delivery, but with a new approach. It's still atmospheric, but more open and inviting. It's their dreamiest sound yet, evocative of the swirling textures of Slowdive rather than the shredding styles of My Bloody Valentine. This is a new direction for the band and while much less extreme than anything in their past, it still delivers on execution. "Great Mass of Color" is a balanced song, that still finds its way to their darker past by the end, but will perhaps draw in new listeners who may be less intimidated by this more welcoming sound. Regardless, Deafheaven remain a divisive, yet driving force in modern music. 

Infinite Granite is out August 20 via Sargent House.

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