Over the past decade, Deafheaven has earned acclaimed for pairing dense, moving, shoegaze-inspired black metal arrangements with lead singer George Clarke’s downright visceral screams. That doesn’t look to be so much the case on the group’s fifth album, Infinite Granite, set to come out August 20. A June 9 release teases “another giant leap forward” for the band — one involving a lot less screaming. Lead single “Great Mass of Color” shows off Clarke’s softer side, alongside spacier guitars reminiscent of Slowdive. The final minute offers just a bit of the signature Deafheaven sound, when the guitars finally ramp up and Clarke delivers one cathartic screech. One scream! On a whole six-minute Deafheaven song! Per the press release, Infinite Granite will feature “a startling vocal range” from Clarke, including “falsettos, whispers, multi-part harmonies, and other adventurous vocal treatments, with his trademark black metal-inspired howls mostly absent.” But if you’re missing the screams already, Sunbather is right there too.
