''Roads to Judah'' is the debut studio album by the American

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 ...

. 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 album title is a reference to

N Judah The N Judah is a hybrid light rail/streetcar line of the Muni Metro system in San Francisco, California. The line is named after Judah Street that it runs along for much of its length, named after railroad engineer Theodore Judah. It links downt ...

, one of the busiest lines in the San Francisco transit system. Lyrically, the album is about Clarke's substance abuse.

Reception

''Roads to Judah'' was met with generally positive reviews. Shane Mehling of ''

Decibel The decibel (symbol: dB) is a relative unit of measurement equal to one tenth of a bel (B). It expresses the ratio of two values of a power or root-power quantity on a logarithmic scale. Two signals whose levels differ by one decibel have a po ...

'' gave the album an eight out of ten, and praised it for pushing the boundaries of

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 ...

. He wrote that, "This band produces long, incredibly beautiful

that, aside from the buried shrieks of the vocalist, doesn't have a drop of evil or noticeable malice" and that Deafheaven is "sure as hell doing a lot more with the genre than the newest batch of gauntlet-wearing

Darkthrone Darkthrone is a Norwegian extreme metal band from Kolbotn, Akershus. Formed in 1986 as a death metal band named Black Death, in 1991 Darkthrone embraced a black metal style influenced by Bathory and Celtic Frost and became one of the leadin ...

worshipers." Graham Scala of ''

RVA Magazine ''RVA Magazine'' is a magazine, launched in April 2005 as a full color publication with a focus on street art, trendsetting local music and counter culture ideas coming from the Richmond, Virginia area. It was founded by R. Anthony Harris and Jer ...

'' wrote that Deafheaven's songs are, "all a series of graceful transitions and dynamic shifts in timbre, rather than marathon blastbeat sessions or one effects-laden crescendo after another. This is a distinction which not only separates them from the majority of their contemporaries, but has provided the basis for a memorable and compelling release." However, Alex Deller of ''

Rock Sound ''Rock Sound'' is a British magazine that covers rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, while also giving coverage to better-known acts. It generally focuses on pop punk, post-hardcore, metalcore, punk, e ...

'' gave the album a six out of ten stating that Deafheaven's blend of black metal and shoegaze was not "an entirely new proposition" and compared the album to the music of

Liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

Accolades

Track listing

All songs written and recorded by Deafheaven.

Personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes. Deafheaven *

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 ...

– guitars * George Clarke – vocals * Trevor Deschryver – drums * Kerry McCoy – guitars * Derek Prine – bass Production *

Jack Shirley Jack Shirley is a Grammy Award nominated American record producer, audio engineer and musician. He is known for his analog driven aesthetic, and work with eclectic artists, including Deafheaven, whose 2013 sophomore album ''Sunbather'' received wi ...

– production, engineering, mixing, mastering * Deafheaven – production Artwork * R. Sawyer – cover art, insert art * N. Steinhardt – package design

References

{{Authority control 2011 debut albums Deathwish Inc. albums Deafheaven albums Albums produced by Jack Shirley