Deafheaven Band • Page 5

Judah over New Bermuda though?

 

that's just classic "the band was better before people liked them!" mentality, there are very few bands where you won't find at least someone ranking the band's early stuff more!!!!

also i mean it's the most "black metal" of all their records too so

 

That's what I was referring to. New Bermuda just didn't have any lasting power for me. Judah has a rawer approach that I enjoy because its a bit closer to traditional black metal.

 

Fair enough. I guess it's all just personal preference really. I'm probably more into thrash or death than I am black metal and I guess NB leaned a little more in that direction?!

 

I like a lot of death and thrash too, but the only more pronounced death metal influence I heard on New Bermuda compared to Sunbather or Judah was vocally. Otherwise, the instrumentals sounded like a further progression into the blackgaze style that they've gotten comfortable with.

Side note, I'm listening to New Bermuda now for the first time in over a year. Brought to the Water is a banger. If I remember correctly, my interest waned because the album falls off in its second half.

 

Not a dull/wasted moment on New Bermuda imho

 

Brought to the Water is insane. Every part is 10/10 imo but the outro is the best. That jangly riff after George says "laaaaaughterrrrr" is a m a z i n g

 

Absolute truth. I can't even rank the songs, but Baby Blue might be the least incredible of the bunch.

 

I can't pick a least favorite, or a favorite for that matter, although "Gifts for the Earth" is totally underrated as a closing track

 

I'm not sure how much death influence there is on NB, but I definitely hear some thrash influence. Like I said, NB was the record that got me into the band, so I probably rank it higher because of that. Need to revisit their entire discography though. Haven't really listened to them in nearly a year probably.

 

That song really highlights how awesome the snare sound is. The post punk parts build up HUGE tension. Makes everything sound so heavy. And then the piano parts always make me think of Mellon Collie for some reason.

Unrelated, but I hope the next album has a lot more ambience after the more straightup metal of NB.

 

After relistening to Luna, I can definitely see where the thrash influence comes in around how some of their riffs are constructed. I forgot how good of a song Luna is. With that being said, the album definitely falls off after that. Baby Blue has some interesting parts, but just doesn't capture me like the first two tracks. The first few minutes of Come Back are interesting but it falls off as the song goes along. I made it two minutes into Gifts for the Earth before I switched to Judah to give that a proper listen.

My current overall opinion on Deafheaven: Sunbather is their best album by far. New Bermuda feels like one step forward, two steps backward in comparison. But this is coming from someone who listens to a lot more black, death, and grind that your average person on this site.

 

SB felt more mature to my ears. There was more restraint in some regards. It's actually been a year or two since I've listened to it. NB has some fantastic moments semi ruined by some not so good moments.

 

I prefer New Bermuda because it's just awesome

 

I've always liked NB more. Came out during a very very very very dark period of my life.

 

NB slightly over Sunbather for me. I only enjoy the first couple tracks off Roads but I wish they would play Violet again. First couple times I saw them was pre-Sunbather and the ending of Violet is just a crushing wall of noise live.

Also, shout out to Kettle I fucking love that song. Glad they play that one fairly regularly. Wish it would find its way onto vinyl.

 

They're playing language games on this tour and it's so sick. They're also playing cody

 

Seeing Language Games live gave me a whole new appreciation for that song and album

 

I always liked this band more for the gazier post rock aspects, so I'm camp sunbather

 

Damn that's a tough one

 

With all this discussion of whether New Bermuda or Sunbather is better, I think it's appropriate to take some time to appreciate the band in some of their earliest forms back when they were playing hardcore festivals and venues that look like entry foyers.

 

I'll never get over how cool they were at Eaux Claires. Certainly the band that was the furthest "out there" compared to the rest of the set. They probably gained so many new fans that day.

 

Am I the only one that finds it strange that NB is a much more straightforward and accessible record with more pop appeal yet SB is the more popular one? Strikes me as weird.

 

I mean they're still a black metalband, poppiness and accessibility doesn't necessarily mean favorite hahaha

 

What a show, holy fuck