Deafheaven - Roads to Judah (2011)

Deafheaven are a San Francisco-based five-piece signed to, interestingly enough, Deathwish Records (who usually specialize in hardcore and similar genres, as opposed to the post-metal/black metal mix we have here). 'Roads to Judah' is their first full-length following a hugely successful demo.

'Violet' opens the album with a calming ambiance that builds into a methodical post-rock/shoegaze jam. Then, at around the four-and-a-half minute mark, it switches gears to atmospheric black metal. While the production is decidedly better than most black metal bands, none of the raw energy is lost. The vocals are your usual black metal screams, but the fit perfectly with the music. Deafheaven aren't afraid to go into more sludge/post-metal breakdowns, changing tempos while maintaining their heaviness throughout. They do not limit themselves to one genre; they mix and meld like an apothecary at his craft. The clean guitar intro that opens 'Unrequited' is evidence: it could easily be found on a Gifts from Enola album, or some similar post-metal band, but instead they use it to calm the listener before arguably the heaviest, rawest song of the album. The four tracks on this album span almost 39 minutes, and every one of those minutes is a foray into amazing soundscapes and music.

This kind of music seems to leave no one on the fence; either it's fantastic or absolute shit. Bands like Deafheaven, Altar of Plagues, Wolves in the Throne Room, etc. all fall (unfairly so) under this umbrella of "hipster black metal" or some other ridiculous moniker, decidedly not 'cult' but instead expanding the genre, much to the chagrin of people who choose to keep the blinders over their eyes. And I'm not referring to anyone who doesn't like this particular album, just anyone who is too stuck in the mud to appreciate genre expansion and music boundaries being broken as a whole. Fuck it, listen to what you want and what you like, and let others do the same. And although this album may be more crew-cut and buttoned shirts instead of leather and spikes, for me, this is a front runner to be one of the best albums of the year. Fans of previously mentioned black metal, as well as bands like Jesu, Gifts from Enola, and other ambient, post-metal, or shoegaze bands will find this album powerful. Though 'Roads to Judah' won't be released until April, all preorders come with a free, high-quality download of the album.