Deafheaven's second album, Sunbather, was released in 2013 to wide critical acclaim, becoming one of the best reviewed albums of the year in the US. In 2015 the band followed up with New Bermuda and in 2018 with Ordinary Corrupt Human Love. Their 2021 fifth album, Infinite Granite, drastically reduced the presence of screamed vocals.
Deafheaven formed in February 2010 in San Francisco with vocalist George Clarke and guitarist Kerry McCoy, who previously performed in a grindcore band together. Clarke isn’t sure how he arrived on the name Deafheaven, though he is aware of its appearance in William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 29. The two words ‘deaf’ and ‘heaven’ were combined as an homage to Slowdive.
Clarke and McCoy recorded their demo in April, 2010 at Atomic Garden Studios which was released both on cassette tape format in limited quantities and digitally. It featured four songs that combined black metal and post-rock. Originally, Deafheaven did not intend to release the material but they later sent it out to a few of their favorite blogs.
After the demo had been positively received, Clarke and McCoy recruited three additional musicians, bassist Derek Prine, guitarists Nick Bassett of the shoegaze bands Whirr and Nothing, and drummer Trevor Deschryver who responded to an ad on Craigslist to form a five-piece group and started playing their first shows on July, 2010.
Their debut full-length Roads to Judah was released by Deathwish Inc. on April 26, 2011. As early as September, 2011 Deafheaven announced they had begun writing new music for a potential split album, EP or full-length. At the time, McCoy described it as being "faster, darker, heavier and far more experimental" than their previous material. However in December, 2012 Clarke described their new material as "less melancholic and less centered around only black metal," but rather featuring a more "lush and rock-driven, even pop-driven sound at times."
Their third album titled Sunbather was written solely by founding members Clarke and McCoy. This was similar to the way the band's first demo was composed, and different from Roads to Judah, which was written as a five-piece band. The duo was also joined in the studio by new drummer Daniel Tracy, who "added his own drum style to already-constructed song skeletons." The title of the album reflects Clarke's idea of perfection. He stated that it's meant to represent "a wealthy, beautiful, perfect existence that is naturally unattainable and the struggles of having to deal with that reality because of your own faults, relationship troubles, family troubles, death, et cetera." Deafheaven entered the studio to record in January 2013 with Jack Shirley, and released the album on June 11, 2013 through Deathwish Inc.
Sunbather was critically acclaimed upon release. Metacritic rated the album 92/100, based on 18 reviews, and later declared it the best-reviewed major album of 2013. It was also Deafheaven's first release to chart on Billboard — it ranked at number 130 on the Billboard 200 and number 2 on the Top Heatseekers chart.
In addition to new drummer Daniel Tracy, who was a part of the band for the recording of Sunbather, the band recruited bassist Stephen Clark and guitarist Shiv Mehra for the 2013-2014 tours. Founding members Clarke and McCoy said previous band members parted ways due to difficulties with life on the road and earning little-to-no money.
In 2014, the band released the track "From the Kettle onto the Coil" as a free download for the cable television network Adult Swim's weekly singles series. Their third album, New Bermuda, was released on October 2, 2015, through the ANTI- record label, to critical acclaim.
The band started working on the follow up to New Bermuda in January 2018, when they announced they were in the studio working on a new album, scheduled for release later in the year. On April 17, 2018, the band released "Honeycomb", the lead single to their fourth studio album Ordinary Corrupt Human Love. On June 12, 2018, a new track from the new album titled "Canary Yellow" was released.The album was released on July 13, 2018 through Anti- Records. It received widespread acclaim from critics.
Their music is described as “a dizzying hybrid of shoegaze shimmer, hardcore punk passion, emo vulnerability, and black metal intensity.” They have cited a wide range of musical influences, including, but not limited to: Morbid Angel, The Smiths, Burzum, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Orchid, Emperor and My Bloody Valentine.
Deafheaven
Current Members
George Clarke – lead vocals (2010–present)
Kerry McCoy – guitar (2010–present), bass (2010, 2012–2013)
Daniel Tracy – drums (2012–present)
Shiv Mehra – guitar, backing vocals, keyboards (2013–present)
Chris Johnson – bass, backing vocals (2017–present)
Former Members
Nick Bassett – guitar (2010–2012)
Derek Prine – bass (2010–2012)
Trevor Deschryver – drums (2010–2011)
Korey Severson – drums (2011–2012)
Stephen Clark – bass (2013–2017
2010 - Demo (Remastered in 2012)
2011 - DW Live Series 08: Live at The Blacktop 01.15.11
2011 - Libertine Dissolves (single)
2011 - Roads to Judah
2012 - Deafheaven / Bosse-de-Nage (with Bosse-de-Nage)
2013 - Sunbather
2014 - From the Kettle onto the Coil
2015 - New Bermuda
2018 - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love
2021 - Infinite Granite
VERTIGO
Deafheaven Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where your moon dreams of the dirt
And the sharp tongue of your zealous will
Is only congruent with the salt in your mouth
And the approaching eulogy of the world
Is only congruent with the salt in your mouth
And the approaching eulogy of the world
And the ghost of your aches comes back to haunt you
And the forging of change makes no difference
Makes no difference
Memories fly through the mask of your life
Shielding you from time
The years that birthed the shell
That you gained
Hunched over in apathetic grief
With a disregard for steps
Except the one taken back
Perched up on a rope crafted in smoke
A sword wielding death that buried your hope
Focusing on light through the blinds
Focusing on light through the blinds
A slave to reality under a monarch in the sky
Lost in the patterns of youth
Where the windows shine brightly
Lost in the patterns of youth
Where the windows shine brightly
Lost in the patterns of youth
Where the windows shine brightly
Lost in the patterns of youth
Where the windows shine brightly back at you
Brightly back at you
Brightly back at you
The first two lines of the opening stanza of Deafheaven's song Vertigo imply a sense of obligation to the darkness of the night. The moon which symbolizes the light of hope is dreaming of the dirt, representing the despair and downtrodden nature of the world. The contrast between the two polar opposites creates a sense of congruency within the persona's character. The sharp tongue of their zealous will is a quality that is present within themselves, yet is not evidenced in their reality. The presence of salt in the mouth is a metaphor for the bitter taste that life has to offer. The approaching eulogy of the world represents the loss of hope that the persona feels in the face of the reality of existence.
The second stanza is about the struggles of the past which haunt the persona. They are lost in the patterns of youth, and the ghost of their past experiences comes back to haunt them. They forge for change but realize that it makes no difference. Memories flow through their mind, shielding them from the passage of time. The years that birthed the shell that they are now encased in, weigh them down with apathetic grief. They disregard steps except the one taken back. The phrase "perched up on a rope crafted in smoke" offers another evocative image in the song which creates a sense of hopelessness as it implies that their life is precariously balanced on something that is not substantial. The sword-wielding death that buried their hope, leaves them despondent to the reality they are faced with.
Line by Line Meaning
Destined as the servant to the night
Fated to serve the darkness and its mysteries
Where your moon dreams of the dirt and the sharp tongue of your zealous will
In the realm where your subconscious desires and motivations take shape
Is only congruent with the salt in your mouth
The reality you face is only as real as the salty taste of your surroundings
And the approaching eulogy of the world
As the world comes to an end, death is inevitable
Lost in the patterns of youth and the ghost of your aches comes back to haunt you
Trapped in the memories of past troubles and regrets
And the forging of change makes no difference
Despite attempts to change, the past still lingers and cannot be undone
Memories fly through the mask of your life shielding you from time
Memories come and go, serving as protection from the ongoing passage of time
The years that birthed the shell that you gained.
The transformative years that shaped and molded your identity
Hunched over in apathetic grief with a disregard for steps except the one taken back
Feeling defeated and hopeless, with no motivation to move forward
Perched up on a rope crafted in smoke
Suspended in a fragile state, with the possibility of collapse at any moment
A sword wielding death that buried your hope
Death has taken away your sense of possibility and optimism
Focusing on light through the blinds
Centering on a glimmer of hope and positivity shining through dark times
A slave to reality under a monarch in the sky
Feeling trapped and controlled by the forces of nature and the universe
Lost in the patterns of youth where the windows shine brightly back at you
Trapped in a past you can no longer change, with unwavering reminders of what was
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY
Written by: George Lesage Clarke, Kerry Dylan McCoy
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Oluwadarasimi Lev
Destined as the servant
to the night where your moon dreams of the dirt
and the sharp tongue of your zealous will
Is only congruent
with the salt
in your mouth
and the approaching
eulogy of the world.
Is only congruent
with the salt in your mouth
and the approaching
eulogy of the world.
Lost in the patterns
of youth and the ghost
of your aches comes back
to haunt you.
And the forging
of change makes no difference.
Makes no difference.
Memories fly through the mask of your life
shielding you from time.
The years that birthed the shell
that you gained. Hunched over in apathetic grief
with a disregard for steps.
Except the one taken back.
Perched up on a rope
crafted in smoke/
a sword wielding death
that buried your hope.
Focusing on light through the blinds.
Focusing on light through the blinds.
A slave
to reality
under a monarch
in the sky.
Lost in the patterns of youth
where the windows shine brightly
Lost in the patterns of youth
where the windows shine brightly
Lost in the patterns of youth
where the windows shine brightly
Lost in the patterns of youth
where the windows shine brightly
back at you.
brightly back at you.
brightly back at you.
Jameel Ahamed
The song seems pretty deep to me.
Destined as the servant ... zealous will:
The guy is in love with a girl. But not just any girl. That popular girl who's like the moon in the wide sky. And she doesn't know he exists. She's dreaming of the other cool guys who our main guy here thinks of as dirt. The guy asked her out, and now she dreams of the guy she likes and the main guy's zeal to actually ask her.
Is only congruent ... of the world.:
Congruent means 'equals to' or 'is the same thing'. So his asking her out is basically equal to her saying no and him crying over it (salt in his mouth = tears) and his approaching suicide note. Suicide because eulogy means praising and I think this sarcastically means his note "praising" the world.
Lost in the patterns ... makes no difference:
Time has passed by a lot now. She's thinking about her past (patterns of youth) and the death of someone because of her (ghost of her aches is the dead main guy). The world keeps changing, but the fact that he died doesn't change.
Memories fly through ... disregard for steps:
She keeps thinking about this and goes into depression. The passing years made her gain a shell which keeps her from being happy. Soon she stops caring about anything.
Except the one ... buried your hope.:
Now she realizes she should forget the past. She was walking a tight rope destined to fall because of a crazy death that buried her hope.
Focusing on light through the blinds:
She starts looking at life happily again, ignoring the bleakness behind her shell and focusing on the light through the blinds instead.
A slave to reality ... in the sky:
Because in the end, she's just a slave a reality and under the control of god, so what's the point of staying the past?
This is what I think the song means. Honestly though, I don't know if the last paragraph is right. I'm open to suggestions though.
Dystopia
This album is unbelievable. But this song stands out for me. The way it builds up in the beginning to this massive attack sound is insane. Every instrument used in this song is stunning, from the guitar riffs to the bass riffs and Daniels drumming. These songs can really paint a picture in your head and that's what music needs to be. This album/band needs more recognition.
your dad
IKR
papafsb444
It doesn't sound anything like massive attack.
TheShiver
@papafsb444 He may not have meant the band but an intensity of music.
ZAN1333
барыс 8х8 пизже имхо///🤪
Mr.StrangeLove
This is prolly one of the best songs in history
Storm's Killzone
You're not wrong
Fuhrious
Agree. Masterpiece.
Mercutio
George is right - it's actually unbelievable how much Daniel's drumming influenced the shape of the songs, especially this one.
MagnumPineapple27
With the way the melodies and chord progressions uncontrollably weep, it convinces me that this song is pure grief condensed into sound.