Album Review: Deafheaven - New Bermuda

Experimentation isn't too welcome in the black metal community. This was made awfully clear when Deafheaven's previous album Sunbather, though it garnered widespread critical acclaim, was dismissed by the genre's many purists as "hippie metal" for it's unconventionally bright and triumphant sound. I personally despise this kind of close-mindedness. The album's innovation and diversity was one of the greatest reasons it was the best metal record of the year (2013) for me.

New Bermuda continues to expand on the band's experimental style, blending together various influences from post-rock, thrash metal and shoe-gaze, but somewhat follows the same overall blueprint as Sunbather - a mixture of despair and beauty, loud distorted passages accompanied by soft and melodic ones. The band has, however, significantly cut down on the vivid and vibrant atmosphere, which was a major element on Sunbather, and has turned to a comparatively darker sound The instrumentation is harsher and more abrasive, George Clarke's screams are sharper and sound chillingly anguished, and the lyrics are depressing, dealing with the idea of a life devoid of all happiness.

The album opens with the band in full-form, with Brought To The Waters. One of the instantly striking features is the drumming, which remains a highlight till the end of the album. It is a marvel how effortlessly Daniel Tracy transitions between drum rolls, never for a second faltering in his timing. The track is a solid one, successfully weaving in bits of melody into the gritty and chaotic instrumentation.

Next up, Luna kicks in with its Slayer-esque guitar riff. The thrash influence is distinctly audible throughout most of the song's length, with many of the riffs following the style of the genre's characteristic chugging and galloping sound, though the murk and atmosphere of black metal still takes the center-stage. Baby Blue, on the other hand, serves as a testament to the band's versatility, and stands as the most diverse track on the album, with a smooth undistorted intro, some thrashy riffing and a wah-wah pedal guitar solo. The most interesting track however, is the album-closer - Gifts for the Earth. The song features Clarke's distressed black metal vocals over soft and clean instrumentation in the background, sounding like a post-rock band with a black metal vocalist.

Deafheaven hasn't exactly matched the brilliance of Sunbather, which by no means is an easy task, but created a worthy follow-up to it. With just three albums into their career, the band has already won the spot for the best American black metal act in my list.

Rating: 9/10

Track Review: Megadeth - Fatal Illusion

Fatal Illusion, the lead single from Megadeth's upcoming album, has just been released on YouTube through Megadeth's official Vevo channel. When I first came across the track on the Internet, I was in a sort of dilemma whether to play it immediately or listen to it later. I was just too scared of being disappointed, since Megadeth is one of my favorite bands and it hurts me when they put out sub-standard music (like their previous studio album Super Collider). But as soon as the first riff blared through my speakers, I knew that Megadeth was truly back with something that'll kick ass.

The song is also the first piece of music we have heard from Megadeth's new line-up consisting of the newly recruited Kiko Loureiro (guitarist) and Chris Adler (drummer, Lamb Of God). If you're one of those fans worried whether they'll be able to keep up the quality, rest assured. Dave Mustaine has made the right choice, like always.

The first minute, with its prog-metal sounding riff and drums, creates an atmosphere similar to the song Five Magics from the band's cult-classic Rust In Peace album. Adler's skills are also given enough room to shine through, as he play a bunch of well-timed drum fills. A sick bass-line by David Ellefson follows immediately, kicking off the next three minutes of sheer head-banging awesomeness.

The riffs are thick and fairly intricate, standing as proof that Dave hasn't lost his songwriting genius even by a bit. Though it may sound strange, some of the riffs in the song's last minute reminded me slightly of Megadeth's Peace Sells...But Who's Buying era. Chris Adler's drums fit in well with the band's style, which serves as as a testament to his versatility. Judging from Kiko's solo, he is a better guitarist than the previous Chris Broderick; a little less robotic, I feel, but is a long way from Marty Friedman, the band's most loved guitarist who played on Rust In Peace, and that was expected since Marty is a once-in-a-lifetime talent.

The only criticism I feel the song deserves is that - Dave's vocal style did not suit the track. He should have used the raw high-pitched snarling voice (he is so known for), which would have added a great deal of energy and intensity to the already intense instrumentation.

Rating: 8/10