Deafheaven have announced their fifth album Infinite Granite will arrive in August, and it’ll likely sound very different to the blackened post-metal the band have crafted over the past decade.
Though the band have always coalesced their more abrasive style with elements of shoegaze, lead single ‘Great Mass of Color’ sees Deafheaven veer more heavily into that territory than ever before, with heavy dream-pop influences throughout. Most notably, frontman George Clarke’s trademark screamed vocals and traded for a more melodic singing style.
Earlier this week, Deafheaven hinted that a change in direction was on the cards when they shared a teaser to their social media accounts. The brief clip contained a snippet of a track that was entirely devoid of guitars, instead based completely around moody synths.
The nine-track album, which will follow 2018’s Ordinary Corrupt Human Love, was produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen. It was engineered by Darrell Thorp and frequent Deafheaven producer Jack Shirley, and recorded at the latter’s Atomic Garden East studio in Oakland, California.
Last year, Deafheaven intended to embark on a tour to celebrate 10 years since the release of their first demo, plans they obviously had to cancel due to the pandemic. In lieu, they released a live album called 10 Years Gone, also recorded with Shirley at Atomic Garden.
Listen to ‘Great Mass of Color’ below. Infinite Granite is out August 20 via Sargent House.
