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Mar 28, 2025 Web Exclusive By Austin Saalman

Deafheaven’s sixth album boasts vast soundscapes and high intensity, treating the listener once again to the Bay Area-founded metal outfit’s signature blackgaze fusion. A penetrating symphony of shredding guitars and roaring vocals, Lonely People with Power is complemented to sometimes sublime effect by the more subdued post-rock sounds of 2021’s pivotal Infinite Granite. Lonely People’s stunning “quiet-to-loud” dynamic, applied most effectively on “Revelator,” “Incidental II,” and “Winona,” endows it with a commendable air of unpredictability. “Incidental II,” which features an eerie vocal performance by Boy Harsher’s Jae Matthews, is an especially remarkable entry. Standing among Deafheaven’s most significant artistic achievements, this delirium-inducing analog horror fever dream’s closing explosion of fuzzed-out fury will likely stun and perhaps haunt even the most jaded listener. Further indicative of the band’s underlying art-rock aspirations, the album features a guest appearance by Interpol’s Paul Banks, whose icy spoken-word delivery on “Incidental III” renders the track worthwhile, despite its brevity. Elsewhere, the retro-inspired “Heathen” and metallic adrenaline rush “Magnolia” both captivate and confront, while sinisterly ethereal “The Marvelous Orange Tree” closes the album on a triumphant note.

In the years following the release of its breakthrough sophomore effort Sunbather—among its decade’s most remarkable releases—Deafheaven has worked consistently to refine the refreshing black metal + shoegaze fusion for which it earned renown, with Lonely People with Power representing yet another phase of the band’s artistic evolution. This will indeed thrill longtime fans while simultaneously ushering new listeners into the fold. (www.deafheaven.com)

Author rating: 7.5/10