Blackgaze heavyweights Deafheaven are returning to Australia for the first time in over four years for a national tour of our major cities, including two Melbourne headliners at Max Watt’s on May 31 and June 1.

Still hot off the release of 2021’s Infinite Granite, the boys have developed quite a repertoire of albums to draw setlists from over their 13 years of existence, including 2013 classic Sunbather.

Fans are eager to see how they will balance harsher tracks such as Sunbather, which the band is slated to play in full at Hobart’s Dark Mofo at the end of their tour, with their more contemporary work.

Recent effort Infinite Granite has marked a shift away from the sonic extremities of their black metal influences and towards a focus on melody and texture. While I personally still find myself drawn more to these earlier blackened heights, there is still plenty to enjoy in recent Deafheaven offerings.

Max Watt’s is a CBD venue of moderate size: a cordoned stage sitting above a smaller pit but with two floors that tend to pack for larger acts. With a band like Deafheaven playing, the place is bound to be full of fans ready to go hard in the mosh.

Joining Deafheaven for their Melbourne show will be Melbourne prog quintet Closure in Moscow and the genre-benders of RUN.

Tickets for Deafheaven’s Melbourne show are available here.