Single Slam – Canary Yellow by Deafheaven (Ordinary Corrupt Human Love)

Californian metallers, Deafheaven, have a new album called Ordinary Corrupt Human Love coming out on the 13th of July. Canary Yellow, released today, is the second single from that album.

The first single that came out is called Honeycomb and you can read our thoughts on it here. Ordinary Corrupt Human Love, to be released via Anti-Records, will be the band’s fourth studio album, following on from 2015’s excellent New Bermuda. Often classed as black metal or post black metal (and also that horrid word shoegaze), the band have disputed that saying they are just a metal band. What they do provide though are often long and expansive songs designed to take your mind on a journey through emotion and Canary Yellow is no different.

Deafheaven are George Clarke on vocals and keyboards with Kerry McCoy and Shiv Mehra on guitars. Bass is in the hands of Chris Johnson, who replaced Stephen Clark in 2017. Finally, on drums we have Daniel Tracy.

Canary Yellow is certainly a long and expansive track being over 12 minutes long. It starts off with a calming and uplifting melody. Gentle drums and an introspective melody quickly hook you in on this latest soulful journey. As the song progresses, a quick picked guitar line starts building and the drums start sounding more insistent. With a sudden switch, the calmness is replaced by a more forceful, darker sound as the guitars take over and the blackened vocals roar into place.

Typically, there are intricate guitar lines and powerful riffs coming in and out in perfectly structured segments while Daniel Tracy switches drum styles up at will to match the expansive and atmospheric rhythms on show. There is a brief switch back to calm before Canary Yellow explodes viciously for a powerful and heavy ending which even includes a brief clean singing section, though it is mostly hiding behind the wall of guitars and screams.

In truth there isn’t really anything new on Canary Yellow that is going to win anyone new over. It is really just another very good Deafheaven song. You are either a fan of these guys or not and if you are, you will love it. If you aren’t, you are unlikely to change your mind.

Deafheaven are out on tour from early July in support of the new album. It is a mammoth tour that starts in the US and eventually leads them across the pond with multiple dates in Europe and the UK. Visit here for dates and tickets.

Canary Yellow is available now on all the usual streaming services, like Apple Music and Spotify. You can grab a preorder of Ordinary Corrupt Human Love from here. Check out Deafheaven on Facebook, Twitter and at their website for more on them, their tours and releases.

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