Trigger warning: sexual trauma

It’s hard not to sympathise with Deafheaven’s precarious situation in the modern day. After making ‘Sunbather’— a record routinely named the band’s best for its sweeping atmosphere and relentless black-gaze soundscapes— more than a decade ago, the process of working in that album’s shadow cannot have been an easy one. The five piece have always tried to skirt around lofty expectations, slowly stripping their black metal influences away until 2021’s ‘Infinite Granite,’ which saw the group leaning further into a smooth post-rock sound than ever before. Metal clearly isn’t quite done with Deafheaven yet though as the band are back to dense arrangements of harsh vocals and guitars in 2025, much to the delight of fans across the globe. Though we’re not quite sure new album ‘Lonely People With Power’ is the second coming of Christ some are making it out to be, the record is certainly Deafheaven’s strongest in quite some time, holding its own against the likes of ‘Sunbather’ while bring an appeal entirely its own.

To some, Deafheaven’s return to crushing black metal arrangements will be enough to sell them on ‘Lonely People With Power’ by themselves: when the execution is this intense and evocative, it’s hard to argue against the idea that the band have returned to the genre with an exciting ferocity. Lead single ‘Magnolia’ demonstrates the group’s focus extremely well as the track smacks its way through a series of increasingly blistering, ominous guitar riffs and pounding drum beats— George Clarke’s eery howls are as haunting as they’ve ever been, amping up the song into an imposing display of black metal brutality. Cuts like this see Deafheaven’s writing at arguably its most straightforward and cutting, narrowing in on infectious rhythms and riffs over the massive walls of sound that defined a record like ‘New Bermuda’— a song like ‘Revelator’ is bound to create pandemonium in the live setting, setting itself up to be a more head-bang inducing track than anything in the group’s back catalogue.

The group’s affinity for lush soundscapes has hardly been neglected though: by contrast, ‘Lonely People With Power’ infuses harmony into even its most relentless passages, adding a touch of melancholy that comes to define the record. Opener ‘Doberman’ centres itself around all the dense clusters of guitars the band are known for, benefitting greatly from the album’s spacious sound design— it’s a mix that gives each raw, grim layer the space it deserves, balancing the performances superbly. Deafheaven also continue to experiment with clean vocals and more muted palates on cuts like ‘Heathen,’ which builds from a serene arrangement of guitar arpeggios and hushed vocal layers into an urgent foray of blast beats and screams. The following ‘Amethyst’ accomplishes a similar feat across a much loftier runtime, slowly morphing from a sorrowful spoken-word intro into a hauntingly beautiful crescendo— the track’s central refrain may only take the form of a simple three-note loop, but it’s nonetheless one of the most memorable and poignant themes on the entire record.

A desire to strike back into the limelight shines through all across the album, only adding to the sheer intensity of a number of these cuts— that ambition fuels the record’s best moments, even while it burns some of its worst. Though ‘Lonely People With Power’ certainly benefits from moments of clarity in-between its heaviest escapades, it’s ‘Incidental’ interludes can wind up as some of the dreariest moments in the runtime— ‘I’ and ‘III,’ in particular, do little more than leave the listener waiting, while ‘II’ manages to elevate itself thanks to Jae Matthews’ gripping vocal delivery and the track’s shocking noise-rock ending. That moment may just be a career highlight for Deafheaven, and arguably could have ended the record on a climactic high: as it stands, ‘Lonely People With Power’ winds on for another five tracks and suffers for it. In truth, there’s no crippling flaw to note on a cut like ‘Winona’ or ‘Body Behavior,’ except that these tracks tread overly similar group to what’s come before. The group may have bitten off a little more than they can chew with a runtime exceeding an hour, leading to a record that leaves us feeling overly exhausted when all is said and done.

What we can’t get enough of, by contrast, is the devastating lyrical commentary that runs throughout ‘Lonely People With Power.’ On a personal level, Clarke explores the impact of his childhood experiences, reflecting on how trauma continues to shape him. The central theme of loneliness takes the form of emotional unavailability throughout cuts like ‘Heathen,' which dives into a visceral fear of opening oneself up to the world— Deafheaven’s lyrics have always taken a poetic form, and ‘Lonely People With Power’ takes that idea and runs with it.

“Oh, he lies to feel like he is someone new

Oh, why don't we leave and go to somewhere new?

I wonder what is numbness

And what's a coma?

Into the lights

Closing his eyes in the lane again”

Clarke balances the honest portrait of human suffering he’s creating against well-considered dissections of generational trauma and wider political commentary, displaying a versatility in his writing that continues to impress upon re-listens. ‘The present’ is an idea that ‘Lonely People With Power’ returns to constantly, and it’s a deft way of describing the powerful viewpoint the record thrusts us into without hesitation.

“I was a man made of yesterdays

Mornings glowing like coal

Blinding the every day

Legs buckling together when moving

Now I'm faced from the East

And rushing to the crest

Of the valued vast

Sterling purple echoing West”

‘Brevity is the soul of wit’ is a lesson often unlearned by post-rock bands, and it’s one Deafheaven might need a refresher on: ‘Lonely People With Power’ exhausts itself before it closes, making the prospect of a front-to-back listening experience a daunting one. When the overall record is this overwhelming strong though, we’re likely to return to it anyway. Deafheaven have returned in full force in 2025, bringing some of the strongest material of their entire career with them— ‘Lonely People With Power’ stands with ‘Sunbather’ as a benchmark release for black-gaze, providing an experience as brutal as it is devastating.