After watching video interviews with Deafheaven founders George Clarke (vocals) and Kerry McCoy (guitar), I can now take solace in knowing that most every musician is a normal person offstage. Having said that, the transformation metal artists go through to put on a performance never ceases to amaze me. They sound completely normal in conversation, but then their onstage blood-curdling screams add a whole new dimension to their persona. Listening to Clarke’s hissing-style death metal vocals over McCoy’s heavily distorted nonstop guitar strumming is only a portion of the massive appeal in seeing Deafheaven live this Sunday at the High Noon Saloon.
On top of hearing how clean Deafheaven’s guitars will sound live in comparison to their studio music, I am most excited to see drummer Daniel Tracy display his skills for the Madison crowd. I don’t think I have ever seen a live drummer tasked with recreating drum pieces as frantic as Deafheaven’s. The double bass pedals should be more than intense.
As far as the set list goes, I would expect the band to play songs almost exclusively from their latest album, Sunbather, which received wide critical acclaim across the second half of 2013. The album clocks in at just under an hour, so some smart edits to performances of their studio tracks would allow them to play the album from front to back and still have time to play other material as well. On the point of mood, I definitely expect some soft pink lighting to at least go along with songs like “Irresistible” or the interludes in “Dream House.” A night show in a smaller venue like the High Noon Saloon should allow for a more intimate atmosphere, and it will be interesting to see the vibe of the show given the drastic changes of pace between their death metal and shoegaze influences.
[…] After getting back to Madison from North by Northeast Music and Interactive Festival in Toronto on Sunday, my level of exhaustion only meant one thing: I NEED METAL, of course. In all seriousness, I did not want to miss the band that put out one of my favorite albums from last year, so I made the trek out to East Washington that night to check it out, and got a lot more decibels than I accounted for. […]