Of course, this being Deafheaven, there are a million other shades of sound to work through as well. The Garden Route sees them drifting on a pleasant, glistening guitar closer to Interpol than Immortal, while the eruption on the second half of Amethyst is pre-rolled by a quietude somewhere between Opeth and American Football. All of this is put together with great care, so that each element is its own, without jarring against its neighbour, ably exploring the themes of power and its motivators and effects.
All of which is very Deafheaven. But there’s a gleaming shine on everything that fills it all with vitality. Far from a step back, or attempt to redress something, a return to heaviness is simply the next piece of the picture. That you can hear them fair running towards it with refreshed enthusiasm for such things only makes it sing all the louder.
Surprising? Yeah. But then again, you should have learned to expect such things from Deafheaven by now.
Verdict: 4/5
For fans of: Enslaved, Converge, Blood Incantation
Lonely People With Power is released on March 28 via Roadrunner