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Jan 05, 2024 Web Exclusive By Marc Abbott

Some records open doors, giving birth—and lending credence—to entirely new sub-genres. In 2013, Deafheaven’s Sunbather did precisely that, firmly demonstrating that dark metal needn’t be the preserve of neck-bearded Northern European doom-mongers, instead invigorating the genre with melody, lyrical tenderness, and a depth of musical arrangement and instrumental diversity almost previously unheard of within its traditionally insular enclave. Plus, it had a pink sleeve; that raised some eyebrows!

The breadth of non-metal influence abundant on Sunbather runs from the blast beats of early ’90s industrial, to the guitars of My Bloody Valentine, the atmospherics of Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Explosions in the Sky, and—perhaps most evidently—Mogwai. This record is where shoegaze meets post-rock meets dark metal, and the resultant arrangements are of dazzling complexity and scale. In brief, it’s shockingly good, and even 10 years beyond its original release, it sounds fresh. Fresh, melancholic, ecstatic, and frighteningly powerful.

Opener, “Dream House” is as firm a statement of intent as you’ll find. Multi-layered, fuzzed-out guitar gives way to George Clarke’s screamed vocals, joined by double-speed drums, the whole arrangement switching to a beautifully melodic interlude, before Clarke bursts back in with “I’m dying/Is it blissful?/It’s like a dream/I want to dream…I want to dream/With you.” It’s earth-shattering. What follows over the subsequent hour of Sunbather is a masterpiece in pacing, as piano-laden instrumental “Irresistible” paves the way for the 10-minute title track—a juggernaut that deftly applies the quiet bit/loud bit approach without falling into post-rock cliché. “Please Remember” evokes the spoken word sections of Mogwai’s Young Team and Come On Die Young albums, bathed in reverse reverb, backed with tape loops, again breaking loose into acoustic guitar at its halfway point, to terminate in trem-laden instrumental. There is no verse/chorus structure to any track on this album; each takes an almost organic route from entry to exit. And closing number, “The Pecan Tree” is an ecstatic example, even having the confidence to fade out rather than reach its hinted crescendo.

This remix/remaster has been engineered by the album’s original producer, Jack Shirley. And, on initial listens, the most obvious impression is of Shirley shoving the bass and drum faders up to 11. Whatever the details, the production has achieved full face-melt mode. To accompany the remastering, the LP gets gatefold packaging, the seven tracks are spread across four sides of marbled, colored vinyl, and new artwork adorns the inner sleeves.

One could argue, with a good chance of meeting zero resistance, that without Sunbather, emerging dark metal bands like Agriculture, or even transcendental metal pioneers Liturgy, would gain little traction among wider guitar rock circles. Kids who grew up on late grunge and post-rock might never have revisited pre-Sunbather avant-garde approaches to black metal, from the likes of Australia’s Woods of Desolation, for example. Seminal is an overused word, but Sunbather earns it, demands it, typifies it. It’s one of the defining alternative rock albums of the first two decades of this century, and—if you don’t own it—this remastered version is the perfect opportunity to immerse yourself. (www.deafheaven.com)

Author rating: 9/10