Review: Deafheaven - Lonely People With Power

Review: Deafheaven – Lonely People With Power

Experimental metallers return in a blaze of glory as their add more brilliance to their distinguished discography.

In the 12 years since breaking through with ‘Sunbather’, Deafheaven have continued to evolve beyond their “blackgaze” roots. 2015’s ‘New Bermuda’ and 2018’s ‘Ordinary Corrupt Human Love’ stylistically maintained the post-black metal sound, yet allowed them to explore myriad ideas. However, when it came to 2021’s ‘Infinite Granite’, the abrasive intensity was replaced by often dreary shoegaze. Album number six, ‘Lonely People With Power,’ could be seen as either a sign of regression or an opportunity to get things back on track.

On the surface, it sees vocalist George Clarke, guitarists Kerry McCoy and Shiv Mehra, bassist Christopher Johnson, and drummer Daniel Tracy, return with feverish ferocity. Early cuts, ‘Doberman’ and ‘Magnolia’, are demanding and a vigorous reminder of Deafheaven‘s ability to destroy while preserving their layered nuance. The former sees a rambunctious Tracy pummel away as McCoy and Mehra’s relentless guitars go skywards. The latter chugs away as Clarke’s piercing screams erupt amongst the chaos.

Whenever Deafheaven have “gone heavy”, it’s done with structure and a magnetic quality. It’s also more often than not levelled out by poised moments of considerable tranquility. ‘Lonely People…’ thoroughly does this. Whether that is on ‘The Garden Route’s circling guitars around Clarke’s growls, or the pensive strums that ease us into ‘Amethyst’s eight-minute journey. The jump from tranquil serenity to volcanic eruptions is rarely jarring. The quintet have mastered the ability to easily transition from the light to the dark with cinematic poise. Another example can be heard on ‘Heathen’. With verses consisting Clarke’s clean vocals and ringing guitars, the jump to the fierce wall of noise is intuitive.

‘Revelator’ is a hulking onslaught of mosterous proportions. Jagged riffs and fiery blast beats are the recipe used by Deafheaven for one of their heaviest tracks to date. Once again, Tracy, assisted with rhymic support from Johnson, steals the spotlight as Mehra and McCoy deliver a dual-guitar arsenal attack. Abrupt clean strums offer a momentary break before one final ferocious charge.

Jae Matthews of Boy Harsher and Paul Banks of Interpol vocally prop up ‘Incidental II’ and ‘Incidental III’ respectively. Both allow Deafheaven to experiment. ‘Incidental II’ sees buzzy synths drone away as Matthews provides a cold, monotone delivery, ominously building to icy, demonic blasts. ‘Incidental III’ is equally haunting as Banks narrates a tale of former love. Its textured ambiance serves as a prelude for ‘Winona’. Like a train coming down the tracks, its brooding build is exhilarating. It gives way to one of the album’s best moments. Tracy’s blast beats, alongside McCoy and Mehra’s guitars, provide a euphoric rush that is simply thrilling.

‘Winona’ makes up half of an exceptional conclusion, the other being ‘The Marvelous Orange Tree’. Swelling guitars break into a towering onslaught before George controls the ebb and flow between harsh and melodic vocals. There’s a hypnotic tone to Kerry and Shiv’s guitar, even when they erupt. Meanwhile, Christopher and Daniel steadily add to ‘Lonely People…’s end with a sense of finality. It’s the culmination of one of the best albums of Deafheaven‘s career.

Admittedly, some will consider Deafheaven musically backtracking. However, you can’t (and shouldn’t) complain as it’s performed with such compelling dynamism. ‘Lonely People With Power’ incorporates all of the elements of Deafheaven‘s back catalogue and pieces them together intricately to create something powerful.

Photo By Nedda Afsari | Design By Nick Steinhardt

‘Lonely People With Power’ by Deafheaven is released on March 28th 2025, on Roadrunner Records.