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Deathkings Premiere “The Storm” from All that is Beautiful

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Los Angeles downer metal four-piece Deathkings release their second album, All that is Beautiful, March 18 via Midnite Collective.

I guess after their 2015 split with Rozamov (review here) it isn’t necessarily a shocker to find All that is Beautiful working in extremes. Even the title is an absolute — one that, in conversation with the overarching atmosphere of the record itself, seems to refer directly to notions of beauty in darkness — and as Deathkings lumber through the included four tracks/64 minutes offers no shortage of harsh stretches. What was a surprise was just how much of that sense of extremity is born of mood and emotionality. Recorded in 2014, which is the same year the band’s debut, Destroyer, was released, All that is Beautiful is as much a work of ambience as it is of sheer aural weight — if not most so — and most of its depressive aspect comes from the resignation of its subdued, downtrodden meditations.

That’s not to say everything’s hunky-dory when 18-minute opener “Sol Invictus” explodes into its growl-topped slow-motion plod from its quieter introduction, just that the integration of the former, particularly at the very start of the record, sets a tone for something more complex than a full album of just the latter would provide on its own. As Deathkings‘ extended tracks continue, whether it’s “Sol Invictus,” “The Storm,” “The Road to Awe” or “Dakhma,” the band leans to one side or another of their sound, and the effect is a multifaceted listen that remains cohesive in its atmosphere and overall mood. It is heavy, conceptually and sonically, and its sky-darkening roll will defy most common conceptions of beauty, but of course, that’s the idea to start with. Building tension in its quiet moments and paying it off either in massive volume or faster, thrashing movements, “Sol Invictus” offers breadth enough to justify its extended runtime, but even this is just a part of the larger work, feeding deathkings-all-that-is-beautifuldirectly into “The Storm” as though the two were one even grander piece.

“The Storm” and “The Road to Awe” are the two shortest cuts of the four at 13:24 and 12:25, respectively, but they retain the dual-tiered brutality of “Sol Invictus,” guitarists Daryl Hernandez and Mark Lüntzel fluidly shifting between weighted and lighter tones, as Nicolas Rocha provides depth to the mix with his bass and the layers of his vocals, which shift between growls, shouts and cleaner moments, reminding in the early, airier verses in “The Storm” of Rwake while shifting in the song’s final stretch to an interplay of shouts and chants, both seemingly buried beneath the guitars and bass and the hi-hat/snare march of drummer Sean Spindler. After its first couple minutes, “The Road to Awe” lurches to life somewhat awkwardly behind its guitar, but retains a Neurosis-style interplay between Hernandez and Lüntzel as it moves forward, Spindler enacting a chorus before a harsher section and a few quiet measures lead to a build seemingly cut short as the 19-minute “Dakhma” takes hold to finish out.

By then, it’s not really a case of Deathkings needing to expand on what they do, or even reinforce what’s come before — their point has gotten across — so much as to bring the sonic themes presented throughout to their natural conclusion. “Dakhma” does this via particularly tumultuous tradeoffs in volume, quiet feeding into loud into quiet into loud in more of a direct back and forth than All that is Beautiful has proffered before. After a driving, blackened apex past the 13-minute mark, they click off an even out somewhat shortly before 15:30, providing their own epilogue and letting the record end somewhere in a middle-ground that they seem to have been working so hard to find all along. Maybe that catharsis, and the catharsis of the entire outing preceding, is the beauty Deathkings are conveying, but neither will I take away from how skillfully the band balances ambient, contemplative evocations and sheer sonic heft. From the two, All that is Beautiful derives a consistency of purpose that makes it feel all the more like a work of passion.

Today I’m thrilled to host the premiere of “The Storm” ahead of the album’s release. Find it below, followed by some more info, and please enjoy:

In the wake of their debut album, Destroyer, as well as the recent vinyl 7? split with ROZAMOV through Midnite Collective, DEATHKINGS descended upon listeners with their bleak, yet enlightening look at the world around them. This state of unrest was developed and channeled into aural and material form with the help of Derek Donley (Bereft, deathkings tour posterGravitron, National Sunday Law, You Big Ox, Pigeonwing, Intronaut) at his Ox Cave Studios in Los Angeles. With Donley at the helm, the band steers the listener through the blending of drowning, desperate rage blended with tranquil undertones.

All That Is Beautiful was finished in early 2014 at Donley’s Ox Cave Studios. Uniting with the Midnite Collective for the third time, both entities have grouped to carefully craft a visually stunning package, deserving of the music contained therein. The band will unleash aural and visual ruin via digital. CD. cassette tape and vinyl (later in the year) releases starting this Spring Harvest, 2016.

Deathkings on tour:
March 30 Que Sera, Long Beach, CA
April 1 The Merrow, San Diego, CA
April 2 Starlite Lounge, Sacramento, CA
April 3 High Water Mark, Portland, OR
April 4 Blacklodge, Seattle, WA
April 5 The Golden Bull, Oakland, CA
April 6 Complex, Glendale, CA

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