DEAFHEAVEN (us)

Not that we're going to immediately respond to Varg Vikerness' (aka black metal king Burzum) request to help fund his latest law suit via crowdfunding, but black metal still holds a special place in our musical heart. The latest wave of American black metal bands impress us infinitely too, with Liturgy, Vattnet Viskar and the outright impressive Deafheaven.

Deafhaven – the name hails from Shakespeare's ‘Sonnet 29’ – resides, ironically, in sunny San Francisco. Deafheaven's black metal has had us by the scruff of the neck ever since their debut – ‘Road To Judah’ from ’11. They avoid clichés like the plague. Their latest album ‘Sunbather’ is even provided with a pink(!) cover and they inject their black metal with post rock and shoegaze. Pitchfork called the album a modern classic and also better than any other black metal album released this year. Fans of Mogwai, Explosions In The Sky and Joy Divison who'd like to look a little further: dive into the unknown, 'cause this is your daring thing!