page_title: Deafheaven
section_title: Signing to Deathwish and Roads to Judah (2010–2012)
hierarchical_section_title: Deafheaven / History / Signing to Deathwish and Roads to Judah (2010–2012)
caption_attribution_description: English: Deafheaven performing live in August 2013. Vocalist George Clarke and guitarist Kerry McCoy in the foreground, drummer Daniel Tracy in the background.
context_page_description: Deafheaven is an American post-metal band formed in 2010. Originally based in San Francisco, the group began as a two-piece with singer George Clarke and guitarist Kerry McCoy, who recorded and self-released a demo album together. Following its release, Deafheaven recruited three new members and began to tour. Before the end of 2010, the band signed to Deathwish Inc. and later released their debut album Roads to Judah, in April 2011. A follow-up album, Sunbather, was released in 2013 to wide critical acclaim, becoming one of the best reviewed albums of the year in the United States. In 2015 the band released their third album, New Bermuda, and in 2018 their fourth, Ordinary Corrupt Human Love.
  Deafheaven's musical style has been described by Rolling Stone as a "boundary-pushing blend of black metal, shoegaze and post-rock". McCoy has cited various other influences on the band's sound, including alternative rock and early thrash metal, and said they do not consider themselves a black metal band, because, although influenced by the genre, they do not have "the ethos, the aesthetic or really the sound of one".
context_section_description: Deafheaven announced they had signed to Deathwish Inc. in December 2010—a label that was founded by Converge's vocalist Jacob Bannon. Deathwish contacted Deafheaven, and originally only wanted to give their demo a wide physical release. By this point, the group already had some new material written and asked if Deathwish could release both the demo and the new material. The first release that Deafheaven released through Deathwish was a 7" vinyl single that featured "Libertine Dissolves" and "Daedalus", two songs that were taken from the group's demo. The single was pressed in a limited quantity and sent out as a gift to random people that made a purchase from Deathwish's webstore.
  Their debut album, Roads to Judah, was released on April 26, 2011 through Deathwish. The title of the album is a reference to the N Judah light rail that provides transportation in Deafheaven's hometown, and lyrically the album is about Clarke's "year of substance abuse and debauchery." Roads to Judah received positive reviews from Decibel and RVA Magazine, and was placed on several year-end lists including NPR, Pitchfork and The A.V. Club. MSN Music also named Deafheaven one of the best new artists of 2011.
  To promote Roads to Judah, Deafheaven performed at Austin, Texas' SXSW festival in March 2011, toured the United States with the Canadian noise rock band KEN mode in June 2011, performed at California's Sound and Fury Festival in July 2011, toured the US with the post-rock band Russian Circles in November 2011, and performed a European tour in February 2012. McCoy said that Russian Circles "took us under their wing" while on tour and taught them how a band ought to behave. He said, "The three rules of any successful band are to write good tunes, be excellent live, and to not be an asshole while doing that. We were always striving to do that, but [Russian Circles] hammered it into our heads." Deafheaven also participated in the mid-2012 festivals Northside in Brooklyn, New York and Fun Fun Fun in Austin, Texas.
  As a part of Deathwish Inc's free live album series, Deafheaven released Live at The Blacktop in July 2011. The album featured an entire live performance from January 15, 2011 in Bell Gardens, California at The Blacktop—a former loading dock converted into a venue. In October 2012, Deafheaven released a split EP with the American black metal band Bosse-de-Nage through The Flenser. Deafheaven contributed a cover of two Mogwai songs, "Punk Rock" and "Cody", released as a single track. The two songs originate from Mogwai's 1999 album Come On Die Young. Also in 2012, Deafheaven released a remastered, limited-edition vinyl record of its 2010 demo through Sargent House.
caption: George Clarke (left), Daniel Tracy (back), and Kerry McCoy (right) performing in 2013
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