Exploring uncompromising beauty: Deafheaven live in London

The proverbial romanticist would have you believe that this was due to the band's sheer sonic force as they presented New Bermuda in its entirety. On evidence of their performance, the romanticist would have every right to feel vindicated with that belief, as Deafheaven performed a seven song-set of blissful, relentless attack that successfully straddled the darkness and the light of their music, elevating it to new levels of profound beauty and power.

Although the loudest cheers, and flailing bodies, were largely reserved for an encore that contained “Sunbather” and “Dream House” respectively, the decision to play New Bermuda in its entirety tonight (14 March) provided the set’s most fascinating and rewarding moments. The live setting, if anything, successfully heightened the record's turbulent beauty, allowing for an in depth exploration of the anxiety ridden and meditative world found on New Bermuda. The quieter moments were given added poignancy, whilst the heavier moments were allowed to reveal their true monolithic stature. “Luna”’s heavy, post-rock closing motifs, for example, struck with an immense, sonic and emotive force as Clarke venomously screamed, “Sitting quietly in scorching reimagined suburbia”.

Likewise, “Gifts For The Earth”, showcased Deafheaven’s dynamic shifts in sound and tempo. It gracefully glided between propulsive motorik rhythms, to heavy rock riffs and then later to soft, anthemic strummed guitars, which complemented frontman, George Clarke’s poetic musings on death and the decomposition of the human body.

Luxuriating in the bravado and braggadocio associated with the role of frontman, Clarke was magnetic. At Heaven, his sinuous stage presence constantly metamorphosed revealing a plethora of juxtaposing personalities and characters. Fluctuating between pontiff and provocateur, Clarke either prowled the stage intensely - explicitly seeking a greater reaction from the London audience - or reached out to his adoring congregation, as a form of benevolent figure, before offering himself fully to the throngs during an explosive rendition of set closer “Dream House”.

Furthermore, Clarke appeared to play both master and servant to the chaos that engulfed Heaven. At times, he appeared in absolute control of the sound emanating from the band, waving an imaginary conductor’s baton, which would then seemingly unleash a flurry of snares, cymbals and reflective guitar lines. This command however would abruptly shift to see a man part-possessed by his own creation. From thrashing about the stage during “Luna” to fluidly moving his body during the Sixpence None The Richer-sounding breakdown of “Brought To The Water”, Clarke’s restless kinetic energy was epitomised by his sweat-drenched black shirt.

To solely focus on Clarke would be criminal. Throughout their seven-song set, it was apparent in abundance that Deafheaven have flourished into a remarkably tight live unit, anchored in part by the astonishing drumming of Daniel Tracy. Rightly highlighted by Clarke prior to “Come Back”, Tracy was a marvel to observe. Aided by crystalline sound, he played with pneumatic force, accelerating the likes of “Baby Blue” (which ironically saw the band bathed in red light) and “Sunbather” with piston-like bass drums and frantic fills. In the live setting, Shiv Mehra and Kerry McCoy’s duelling guitar lines were also accentuated, with McCoy showing off his virtuosic guitar work during the wah wah pedal-laden guitar solo found on “Baby Blue”.

Deafheaven’s show in London marked, as Clarke stated, “their largest London show to date”. Relentless in nature and with no misstep, it cemented their position as one of metal’s brightest acts. Their humble rise over the past three years since the release of the increasingly seminal Sunbather has been astonishing. This rise, pertinently, has not been fuelled by gimmick nor wanton dilution of sound, but arguably, by beauty. There is an inherent, uncompromising beauty behind Deafheaven’s brand of metal, which thematically flirts with the existential. With the live realisation of their thematic and sonic repertoire, Deafheaven were overwhelmingly beautiful.