Absolutely enchanting mix of black metal, post-rock, shoegaze, bittersweet melodies, and really awesome songwriting decisions that you would never have guessed would work so well. One of my favorites of 2015! This is SF-based Deafheaven’s fifth full-length, and is composed of five long-format songs. They each feature “standard” black metal parts with goblin-scream vocals, blinding-fast drumming, and noisy but melodic guitar washes. But what really sets this record apart is the completely unexpected melodic and textural detours they take freely. Jaw dropping and perfect, should be on everyone’s heavy rotation!

FCC clean. Faves: ALL TRACKS!

1 - Nothing prepares you for the tender guitar break at 4:40, though that melody returns later along with the goblin vocals. And then after the fadeout, a piano part comes in.
2 - Atonal scratching guitar line in beginning, followed by a long semi-melodic section, then fades to a dreamy washy part like a 4AD record, and later returns to a slower, anthemic rock section
3 - starts out mellow and introspective, slowly builds, has some wah-wah guitar solos like an early Subpop band, ends with a long chunky metal part that fades out to the radio playing a traffic report from the next room over some droning tones
4 - delicate echoey guitar intro that quickly is buried by a landslide of guitar and drums, more chugging than other tracks (in a good way), and gives way to a long, napping-in-the-sun post-rock section with what sounds like slide guitar.
5 - Sounds like a mid-tempo Interpol song, but with the goblin vocals, until it gets a little heavier around 3:40, and then bafflingly starts sounding like the Beatles’ Strawberry Fields Forever around 5:10 - even after the screaming comes back!