SUNBATHER 2013 (Deathwish)
- Standouts: 'Dream House', 'Sunbather', 'Vertigo', 'The Pecan Tree'
I had to hear this record out of curiosity more than anything. Sure it took me 5 years (!) to actually get around to picking up a copy of Sunbather, but we can skip over that. Basically, I'd heard so many mixed opinions about Deafheaven and their discography (but mostly just this album for some reason) that I finally gave into the hype and found a used CD copy for £6 on eBay.
The controversy surrounding the band is both understandable and retarded, in all fairness. See, they dabble with black metal in their sound, mixing it with post/alternative rock and shoegaze influences. You can't tell me that isn't unique. However, a lot of the criticism comes from hardcore black metal fans labeling them 'hipster metal' for a multitude of reasons; they don't look like the average black metal band, or even just any typical metal band in general. Also, black metal fans are often very protective of the genre - it's a sound that many think should not be mixed with other influences, let alone genres that aren't metal. Don't get me wrong, there are certain traits that have been incorporated by black metal bands that seem to be 'acceptable' among fans; the whole ambient sound can be pretty common among bands thanks to legends like Burzum. Even Cradle of Filth mixed orchestral sounds with the genre (probably not a great example, but you get the picture). Either way, in some ways I do sort of like the fact that black metal is as protected as it is; I mean, I guess it keeps the genre away from the mainstream. However, I do find it ridiculous that some people bash Deafheaven for the way they look, even if they are throwing in unorthodox influences to the traditional black metal sound.
I've listened to Sunbather a few times now and I've honestly liked it for the most part. I don't think it deserves all of the praise the critics have given it; it's not masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but what they've done still surprised me in terms of how good it is. On paper, you'd think throwing in elements of alternative rock would result in an epic fail, but somehow it isn't horrible to listen to. The 9 minute opener 'Dream House' is actually kind of hypnotic; the vocals are the typical black metal raspy screams, and the heavy riffs are also typical tremolo-picked stuff you'd normally expect, but on top of this are some melodic, alt. rock-inspired guitar lines and this boosts the song into something that sounds like no other. Well, for me at least. 'Sunbather' follows the same formula. 'The Pecan Tree' I would describe as 'progressive melodic alternative black metal', or some shit. The song transitions into many different parts. Some bits use the same style as the title track and 'Dream House', whereas the latter parts of the song wouldn't sound out of place on a 'normal' alt. rock album, save for the black metal vocals obviously.
A lot of Sunbather is instrumental though. 'Irresistible' is a nice enough clean melodic guitar piece, but the first half of 'Please Remember' is just pointless noise rock that sounds out of place before transitioning into and acoustic number. 'Windows' is just shite, honestly, and has all this pointless spoken word crap buried underneath the 'music' (I use that term loosely). I like all the proggy changes in the actual songs like 'Dream House', 'Sunbather', 'Vertigo' and 'The Pecan Tree' as it actually works for them, but the instrumentals here are just too experimental to work with rest of the album, as ironic as that seems. Had they just included cut half this crap out and included two more actual Deafheaven songs I'd enjoy the record a lot more. Also, this isn't an album I can just pull out and enjoy every time - even for the songs I do really like. In fact, I'd imagine there would be times I'd just turn a song like 'Vertigo' off completely depending on the circumstances. Example, you probably won't be listening to Sunbather in the gym any time soon.
As far as this album as whole goes however, I think they succeeded. I mean, they've definitely done something new and fresh to a genre that is largely elitist and refuses to expand (man, some black metal fans probably want me dead right now). I don't think Deafheaven are geniuses or anything, but good for them for writing songs they want to write regardless of what the black metal scene tends to be like. It's not like they're trying to change the genre or create a new image or claim to be 'true' black metal anyway; Sunbather is what it is. I like it, even if I don't think it's as great as a lot of the critics claim it to be. Fans of bands like Alcest will probably like it too. Hell, even hardcore Burzum, Watain, Drudkh and whoever else should at least give it a try before slagging it off.
Adam's rating: 7.5/10
