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Dec 2, 2013Sunbather is an emotionally overwhelming but truly absorbing listen. But best of all, it’s cleansing.
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Jul 3, 2013Many bands go through their entire career without making an album as well crafted, fully realized, and downright gorgeous as Sunbather, and somehow, Deafheaven have managed to nail it on their second outing, with an album that seems to get bigger and more affective with each listen.
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Jun 27, 2013Sunbather is a future classic, no matter where you pigeonhole it, and that’s the mark of a true sonic masterpiece. Black metal, not black metal, just call it what it is: perfect.
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Kerrang!Jun 26, 2013It's not for the light-hearted, but Deafheaven have delivered a deranged, damaged, majestic treat here. [8 Jun 2013, p.54]
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Jun 24, 2013A record everyone with half an experimental ear should experience, even if they run from it, screaming.
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Jun 19, 2013Uneasy listening doesn’t get much better.
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Jun 17, 2013Sunbather needs not to be judged as black metal, post metal, or any other subgenre, but simply as heavy music--loud, visceral, beautiful heavy music.
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Jun 13, 2013You can spend hours dismantling Sunbather and cooking up a neat sub-sub-genre for it (post-black-metal-gaze-death-dreamcore-whatever). Or you can just call it one of the year’s best records.
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Jun 13, 2013Sunbather is a developed, mature, and, above all, an original statement that truly lives up to the unbelievable amount of hype it has earned.
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Jun 12, 2013Sunbather is every bit as explosive and engaging as any metal album you’re likely to hear all year.
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Jun 12, 2013Deafheaven’s audacity and artistry are hard to deny, which is but one of many reasons why Sunbather is an essential listen, and one of 2013’s boldest works of art.
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Jun 11, 2013If you want a "black metal album" that serves dually as make-out music and a loneliness weapon, this is as emo and earnest as it gets.
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Jun 11, 2013It's bold, intelligent, and demanding--taking all your emotions and senses and beating them to a pulp while going to a place sonically that’s essentially been untouched by its peers.
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Jun 11, 2013What’s undeniable is that moments from Sunbather will resonate long after the pointless babble has died down, proving that sometimes the greatest beauty can only be found in the face of chaos.
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Jun 11, 2013The result is a perfectly flowing album that is, at times, as calming as it is chaotic.
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Jun 11, 2013With Sunbather, Deafheaven have made one of the biggest albums of the year, one that impresses you with its scale, the way Swans' The Seer did last year.
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Jun 11, 2013Deafheaven’s second outing is wondrous celebration of boundless ambition and pure artistic vision.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 368 out of 417
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Mixed: 20 out of 417
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Negative: 29 out of 417
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Jun 12, 2013
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Jun 12, 2013
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Jun 18, 2013