Deafheaven

Not to be confused with Deaf Havana.

Deafheaven
Origin	San Francisco, California, United States
Genres	Black metal, post-rock, shoegaze, screamo
Years active	2010 (2010)–present
Labels	Deathwish
Associated acts	Whirr
Members
Nick Bassett George Clarke Trevor Deschryver Kerry McCoy Derek Prine

Deafheaven is an American black metal band that formed in 2010. The group signed to Deathwish Inc. and released their debut album Roads to Judah in April 2011.

History

Deafheaven formed in February 2010^[1] in San Francisco, California with vocalist George Clarke and guitarist Kerry McCoy, who previously performed in a grindcore band together.^[2] The two members recorded a demo in April 2010 at Atomic Garden Studios,^[3] which was released both on cassette tape in limited quantities and digitally.^[4] The untitled demo featured four songs that combined traditional screamo with black metal and post-rock.^[4] Originally, Deafheaven didn't intend to release the material, but they later sent it out to a few of their favorite blogs.^[2][4] After the demo had been positively received, Clarke and McCoy recruited three additional musicians—bassist Derek Prine, guitarist Nick Bassett of the shoegaze band Whirr (formerly Whirl^[5]), and drummer Trevor Deschryver, who responded to an ad on Craigslist—to form a five-piece group, and started playing their first shows in July 2010.^[2][4]

Deafheaven announced they had signed to Deathwish Inc. in December 2010^[6]—a label which was founded by Converge's vocalist Jacob Bannon. Deathwish contacted Deafheaven, and originally only wanted to give their demo a wide physical release. By this point, the group already had some new material written and asked if Deathwish could release both the demo and the new material.^[4] The first release that Deafheaven released through Deathwish Inc. was a 7" vinyl single that featured "Libertine Dissolves" and "Daedalus," two songs that were taken from the group's demo. The single was pressed in a limited quantity and sent out as a gift to random people that made a purchase from Deathwish's webstore.^[7]

Their debut album, Roads to Judah was released on April 26, 2011 through Deathwish.^[3] The title of the album is a reference to the N Judah light rail that provides transportation in Deafheaven's hometown,^[4] and lyrically the album is about Clarke's "year of substance abuse and debauchery."^[8] Roads to Judah received positive reviews from Decibel and RVA Magazine.^[9][10] To promote the album, Deafheaven performed at Austin, Texas' SXSW festival in March 2011,^[2][8] toured the United States with the Canadian noise rock band KEN mode in June 2011,^[11] and performed at California's Sound and Fury Festival in July 2011.^[12] In November 2011, Deafheaven toured the US with the post-rock band Russian Circles,^[13] followed by a European tour in February 2012.^[14]

As a part of Deathwish Inc's free live album series, Deafheaven released Live at The Blacktop in July 2011. The album featured an entire live performance from the band's live performance on January 15, 2011 in Bell Gardens, California at The Blacktop—a former loading dock converted into a venue.^[15]

By September 2011, Deafheaven had begun writing new music for a potential split album, EP or full-length. McCoy described the material as being "faster, darker, a lot heavier and far more experimental" than Roads to Judah.^[1]

Members

Current members

• Nick Bassett – guitars
• George Clarke – vocals
• Trevor Deschryver – drums
• Kerry McCoy – guitars
• Derek Prine – bass guitar

Discography

• Demo (2010)
• "Libertine Dissolves / Daedalus" (2011)
• Roads to Judah (2011)
• Live at The Blacktop (2011)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Clark, Andrew; Verducci, Richard (September 16, 2011). "Interviews: Kerry McCoy (Deafheaven)". Punknews.org. http://www.punknews.org/article/44413. Retrieved September 17, 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Hill, Ian (April 9, 2011). "Deafheaven's 'Violently Depressing' Sound Helps SF Act Build Momentum". KQED. http://www.kqed.org/arts/music/article.jsp?essid=49502. Retrieved April 11, 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Harris, Chris (February 12, 2011). "Deafheaven Debut Disc Due April 26". Gun Shy Assassin. http://gunshyassassin.com/news/deafheaven-debut-disc-due-april-26/. Retrieved February 24, 2011. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Pessaro, Fred (February 24, 2011). "An Interview w/ Deafheaven (And a New Song & Dates Too)". Brooklyn Vegan. http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2011/02/an_interview_w_50.html. Retrieved February 24, 2011. 
5. ^ Yancey, Bryne (June 11, 2011). "Whirr (Deafheaven) sign to Tee Pee Records". Punknews.org. http://www.punknews.org/article/43015. Retrieved June 12, 2011. 
6. ^ Yancey, Bryne (December 17, 2010). "Deathwish Inc. signs Deafheaven". Punknews.org. http://www.punknews.org/article/40965. Retrieved April 11, 2011. 
7. ^ Yancey, Bryne (January 10, 2011). "Deafheaven to release 'Libertine Dissolves b/w Daedalus' EP". Punknews.org. http://www.punknews.org/article/41168. Retrieved February 24, 2011. 
8. ^ ^{a b} Macomber, Shawn (July 2011). "Deafheaven: By Demons (and Shoegaze) Be Driven". Decibel (Philadelphia: Red Flag Media Inc.) (81): 26. ISSN 1557-2137. 
9. ^ Mehling, Shane (June 2011). "Rock'n'Roll, Inverted". Decibel (Philadelphia: Red Flag Media Inc.) (80): 78–80. ISSN 1557-2137. 
10. ^ Scala, Graham (April 1, 2011). "Review: Roads to Judah". RVA Magazine. http://rvamag.com/articles/full/11122/daily-record-deafheaven. Retrieved April 25, 2011. 
11. ^ "KEN Mode, Deafheaven tour". LambGoat. April 4, 2011. http://www.lambgoat.com/news/view.aspx?id=16054. Retrieved April 5, 2011. 
12. ^ Kraus, Brian (April 26, 2011). "Sound And Fury Festival finalizes lineup". Alternative Press. http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/sound_and_fury_festival_finalizes_lineup/. Retrieved July 12, 2011. 
13. ^ Kraus, Brian (October 8, 2011). "Deafhaven announce tour with Russian Circles". Alternative Press. http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/deafhaven_announce_tour_with_russian_circles. Retrieved October 13, 2011. 
14. ^ Kraus, Brian (November 8, 2011). "Deafhaven announce European tour". Alternative Press. http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/deafhaven_announce_european_tour. Retrieved November 12, 2011. 
15. ^ Paul, Aubin (July 28, 2011). "Media: Deafheaven: 'Deathwish Live Series'". Punknews.org. http://www.punknews.org/article/43680. Retrieved July 30, 2011. 

External links

• Deafheaven on Deathwish Inc.
• Deafheaven on Tumblr