Kerry McCoy (born January 26, 1988) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the guitarist of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

–based

blackgaze Blackgaze is a fusion genre combining elements of black metal and shoegaze. The word is a blend of the names of the two genres, described by ''The Guardian'' as "the buzz term for a new school of bands taking black metal out of the shadows a ...

band

Deafheaven 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 i ...

Biography

McCoy is a native of

Yuma, Arizona Yuma ( coc, Yuum) is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 93,064 at the 2010 census, up from the 2000 census population of 77,515. Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, M ...

, and lived in Port Hueneme, Oxnard and Stockton, California, before moving to

Modesto Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton ...

at age 10. He started playing guitar at age 11 and got his first electric guitar at age 13. Playing with various bands since he was 13, McCoy met future bandmate George Clarke in 9th grade, after he complimented Clarke's

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

t-shirt. Clarke further introduced McCoy, who was a fan of

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk rock, punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, sa ...

, to

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

music. The two eventually shared a mutual interest in

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...

. From 2006 to 2011, McCoy and Clarke were the members of Modesto-based

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. G ...

band Rise of Caligula. McCoy played bass with the band and Clarke was the vocalist. Following the disbandment of Rise of Caligula, Clarke and McCoy moved to

and formed

in February 2010. The duo recorded an untitled demo album in April 2010 at Atomic Garden Studios with Jack Shirley for about

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

500, which they could not afford at the time. As McCoy did not own an electric guitar or amp at the time, he wrote the demo with an acoustic guitar and recorded with equipment borrowed from the studio. In 2010, Deafheaven became a five-piece with the addition of bassist Derek Prine, guitarist

Nick Bassett Nick Bassett is an American musician, producer and composer from Modesto, California. He was the bassist of shoegaze band Nothing and is the lead guitarist of shoegaze band Whirr. He also played guitar in the original lineup of blackgaze band ...

and drummer Trevor Deschryver. At the same year, the band signed to

Deathwish, Inc. Deathwish, Inc. is an American independent record label conceived by Jacob Bannon of Converge (band), Converge and Tre McCarthy in 2000. Their first release was ''Deeper the Wound'', a split album between Converge and Japanese band Hellchild on A ...

and released their debut album ''

Roads to Judah ''Roads to Judah'' is the debut studio album by the American blackgaze band Deafheaven. The album was released by Deathwish Inc. on April 26, 2011. ''Roads to Judah'' was recorded in four days between December 2010 and January 2011. About The a ...

'' in 2011. Following a series of international touring and the release of a

split EP A split album (or split) is a music album that includes tracks by two or more separate artists. There are also singles and EPs of the same variety, which are often called "split singles" and "split EPs" respectively. Split albums differ from "var ...

with

Bosse-de-Nage Bosse-de-Nage is an American band from San Francisco, California, United States, composed of four anonymous members. Considered as a part of the blackgaze scene, the band performs an experimental black metal style that draws from post-rock, s ...

, Deafheaven released their sophomore album, ''

Sunbather Sun tanning or tanning is the process whereby Human skin color, skin color is darkened or tanned. It is most often a result of exposure to ultraviolet radiation, ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight or from artificial sources, such as a ta ...

'' in 2013. The album, written solely by Clarke and McCoy, was critically acclaimed. In 2014, McCoy was featured on the seventh episode of ''Guitar Power'', a guitar-focused web series presented by

Matt Sweeney Matt Sweeney (born July 2, 1969) is an American musician and record producer best known as a guitarist of Skunk, Chavez, and supergroup Zwan. Early life and education Sweeney was born in New Jersey. His father was John D. Sweeney, a professo ...

Artistry

McCoy's guitar playing incorporates influences from various genres atypical of traditional black metal sound, including

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...

dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such as ...

post-rock Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...

and

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

. According to Jonah Bayer of

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...

, McCoy "takes simple melodies and raising them to stratospheric heights through his use of effects and dynamics." His guitar sound is also described as "

Kevin Shields Kevin Patrick Shields (born 21 May 1963) is an American-born Irish musician, singer-songwriter, composer, and producer, best known as the vocalist and guitarist of the band My Bloody Valentine. They became influential on the evolution of alter ...

meets

Immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film '' The Wisdom of ...

and manages to be bone-crushingly heavy without being overly complicated." McCoy's music also features clean melodic passages and reverse delay

drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...

pieces. McCoy's style was compared to those of Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine and

Johnny Marr Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher, 31 October 1963) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has since performed with numerous ...

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...

, whom he credits as influences. McCoy is also a fan of hip hop music.

Discography

;With Deafheaven * ''

'' (2011) * ''

'' (2013) * '' New Bermuda'' (2015) *''

Ordinary Corrupt Human Love ''Ordinary Corrupt Human Love'' is the fourth studio album by American band Deafheaven, released on July 13, 2018 through Anti-. The title of the album was inspired by Graham Greene's 1951 novel ''The End of the Affair''. Release and promotion On ...

'' (2018) *''

Infinite Granite ''Infinite Granite'' is the fifth studio album by American band Deafheaven, released on August 20, 2021, through Sargent House. The album represents a dramatic departure from the black metal influences of the band's previous albums, and a shift t ...

'' (2021) ;With Rise of Caligula * ''Libretto EP'' (2008) * ''Parading from Heaven's Descent'' (2009) ;Other collaborations * ''25th Street Sessions'' (2016)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McCoy, Kerry Musicians from Modesto, California American heavy metal guitarists American heavy metal bass guitarists American male bass guitarists Black metal guitarists Shoegaze musicians American post-rock musicians American rock songwriters American male songwriters American multi-instrumentalists Living people Guitarists from San Francisco Songwriters from California 1988 births 21st-century American bass guitarists 21st-century American male musicians Deafheaven members