Deafheaven - Lonely People With Power - review
Deafheaven - Lonely People With Power - review
Tracklist
01. Incidental I02. Doberman
03. Magnolia
04. The Garden Route
05. Heathen
06. Amethyst
07. Incidental II [feat. Jae Matthews]
08. Revelator
09. Body Behavior
10. Incidental III [feat. Paul Banks]
11. Winona
12. The Marvelous Orange Tree
A review by
musclassia April 02, 2025
Lonely People With Power isn’t an album that the band needed to make, and there might be some that label it a retreat from what they accomplished on Infinite Granite, when blackgaze became shoegaze and George Clarke put away his signature shrieks in favour of a clean-sung vocal approach. However, even with this being the band’s debut on Roadrunner Records, it’s impossible to listen to this new release and pick up on any cynicism in Deafheaven’s approach here; music of this calibre can only be true passion and conviction, and Lonely People With Power is destined to cement the band at the forefront of the modern black metal scene.
Coming after the group’s softest release, this newest record is arguably their most extreme (at the very least, their heaviest since New Bermuda), with several songs to which the ‘blackgaze’ label feels ill-fitting, such is their ferocity. To accompany this, Clarke’s recognizable high-pitched shrieks are back in abundance; they’ve had a tendency to divide audiences before, but for those with an appreciation for this approach, his performance on Lonely People With Power is arguably his best yet, with impressive ferocity to his snarls. That said, clean vocals are not entirely abandoned, appearing on the likes of “Heathen” and “The Marvelous Orange Tree” to good effect.
The renewed intensity of the band is established very early on; after the first of three “Incidental” tracks opens the record, the first ‘proper’ track, “Doberman”, flies out the gates with blasts, screams and tremolos aplenty. While there is a shining brightness to the guitar tonality initially, the segue into an incredibly tasty chugging riff around the halfway mark makes the band’s more extreme intentions clear; that said, this riff is soon followed by a shimmering, tranquil ‘interlude’ that makes evident that Lonely People With Power is an album that incorporates everything good about Deafheaven, both light and dark. Right afterwards, “Magnolia” is another vicious snorter of a song; while this new record is only 30 seconds longer than Ordinary Corrupt Human Love, it’s 5 tracks longer, translating to shorter, more direct songs this time around, and “Magnolia” is arguably the most direct of any here with its fierce blackened onslaught, which is only really imbued with a slight sense of levity near the end courtesy of a tasteful lead guitar motif.
The next couple of songs, “The Garden Route” and “Heathen”, perhaps feel slightly more classically Deafheaven with their greater dynamic range, as the jangling clean guitar and slick drumbeat kicking off the former and the dreamy post-rock passages of the latter are both contrasted with blackened attacks. The song that is probably the most quintessentially ‘Sunbather’, and the one that arguably exhibits the band’s lighter side most impeccably, is “Winona”, a truly blissful demonstration of soaring blackened tremolos and bright atmospheres paired with anguished vocals and rampant drumming.
As noted above, there are three “Incidental” tracks here, and while the band have had notable guest appearances in the past (Neige on Sunbather, Chelsea Wolfe on Ordinary Corrupt Human Love), they’ve shown ambition this time around, with Interpol’s Paul Banks speaking atop the ambient “Incidental III”. More noteworthy, as far as the end result is concerned, is Jae Matthews of Boy Harsher on “Incidental II”, an ominous electronic effort that descends into abrasive harsh noise to really shake up the vibe of the album. This noise comes fittingly right before “Revelator”, arguably the most extreme song of the band’s career (bar perhaps “Black Brick”); it’s a savage assault of black metal that imbues a real ominous melancholia into its more melodic passages.
Right after “Revelator” is “Body Behaviour”, which (excluding “Incidental II”) is probably the most unusual song here, mainly due to the post-punk groove of its verses, and it has some neat indie-esque guitar melodies amidst the surrounding aggression. There’s also great guitar motifs on “Amethyst”, the longest song on the record and perhaps its highlight (albeit with fierce competition from “Winona” and “Revelator”). It really encompasses the full range of Deafheaven, from quiet, delicate contemplation to bright extremity-tinged wonder, and with fiery assaults leading into euphoric climaxes.
Some have already heralded Lonely People With Power as the best release yet from Deafheaven; given the sheer iconic status of Sunbather within the modern metal scene, it feels hard to make such bold claims already without giving the new album the chance to stand the test of time, but it’s certainly in contention. After the group shied away from a major aspect of their sound last time around, they’ve brought everything together on this newest release, and in doing so have put on an exhibition of why their name carries so much weight.
Written on 02.04.2025 by
Written on 02.04.2025 by
Hey chief let's talk why not Comments
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Posts: 390  |
Posts: 390
Great review! I loved the record myself, just like everything else the band has put out. I don't think it'll dethrone OCHL as my favorite, but it might grab the number two slot from New Bermuda. Time will tell.
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Posts: 96  |
Posts: 96
Great review m8. Deafheaven was never a band I was particularly drawn in by - but I'm glad I gave this a spin as it felt like a masterpiece that transcends its genre a bit maybe n has me wantin to revisit their back catalogue n maybe some other notable prominent fixtures in the blackgaze 'scene'
---- No one can fend off 100 multi-colored Draculas not even Count Chocula or Vlad's Dad (Fat Drac) maybe Leslie Nielsen: Dead & Lovin EET
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Posts: 209  |
Posts: 209
Deafheaven’s appeal is 80% their attitude and 20% their songwriting. Their sound, sonic identity and their vision is what makes them stand out. But I don’t enjoy a lot of their songs to be honest . The problem is that most of their melodies or harmonic progressions don’t really have enough emotional impact. On top of that, the blast beats overstay their welcome. “Heathen” on the other hand, does everything right for me! Simple song, with great harmonic progression that makes you feel emotions ! The production also has a certain charm , but sometimes does not do justice to the music. Ok overall , but they can do better.
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 Posts: 5277 |
Posts: 5277
This is arguably the best album I’ve heard in the last 10 years. Over exaggeration possibly, probably still in the honey moon period but I am completely blown away. I needed this album so bad. My kind of music was getting stale.
---- rekt
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 Posts: 310 |
Posts: 310
Yes, finally a Deafheaven album that is (at least) on the same level as their debut. I quite enjoyed New Bermuda (and 2014 and 2019 singles) too but everything else wasn't to my liking that much (especially Sunbather). This is what I've been waiting for.
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