RANKED: The top 10 Deafheaven songs

Deafheaven, the unsung heroes of melodic black metal, are set to have a phenomenal 2025. With the release of their latest album, 'Lonely People With Power', they cement why they're the frontrunners for extreme music- the kind that makes people feel a multitude of gnarly emotions. On stage at Outbreak Festival and this year, their UK homecoming will be nothing less than a triumph. The band will also return to headline Damnation Festival in November. So in celebration of a masterpiece (and the first Out Of Rage 10/10 album), here is a list of the top 10 Deafheaven songs.

10) DREAM HOUSE

As the first song of Deafheaven's 'Sunbather' album, this is the song that turned Deafheaven into a feeling, not just a band. "Dream House" is George's screaming. It feels like sunlight hitting your face after a night you barely survived. Like most of Sunbather, it’s about longing for something you’ll never have, chasing ghosts and carrying that heavy feeling of wanting. And no, it’s not actually about real estate, but hey—if black metal can be about home ownership, I’m here for it. Who doesn’t love an existential crisis with their mortgage?

9) BROUGHT TO THE WATER

Deafheaven's 'New Bermuda' album kicks off with this banger. The song builds up and then it kicks in, almost as feel like we're starting a new song. George’s vocals hit, the tempo keeps climbing, and the blast beats tear through the air. And those cathedral bells? Like a funeral for something you can’t name. Chaos and beauty smashed together. "Where has my passion gone?" The line hits me most. The riff towards the end of the track is such a Deafheaven moment. Feels like sinking and soaring at the same time. 

8) GIFTS FOR THE EARTH

The closing song of  "New Bermuda" is almost a dreamlike farewell: soft, self-reserved, floating out to sea. Bodies in the ocean, flowers drifting… there’s something peaceful about it, like slipping under the waves and just letting go, which we all have to do some part of our lives…And, that riff - unreal. This is what I love most about Deafheaven: those long, sprawling compositions, the raw, emotional vocals pulling you in, giving you time to feel everything before they drop a riff that wrecks you.

7) VILLAIN

The 6th song of the 'Great Mass of Color' album, Deafheaven's shoegaze-leaning album, clean, dreamy vocals and tunes. It has similar song structures to Deafheaven's previous albums. The vocals hit harder after all the dreamy build up too. it feels like nostalgia and longing, but also less dark. The lyrics drip with introspection, self-loathing, and fractured memories. It’s a song for those late-night walks or commute back home after a long work day.

6) GREAT MASS OF COLOR

This is a favorite song from 'Infinite Granite'. It starts off soft and dreamy, it is shoegaze goodness. You wouldn’t even guess it’s a metal band playing. It’s probably Deafheaven’s most melodic song, and while it’s full of warmth, there’s this hidden sadness beneath it—like a quiet struggle against depression. Then, around the 5-minute mark, these raw screams break through, and it kinda gives me an Alcest vibe, like that perfect mix of beauty and pain.

5) MAGNOLIA

Deafheaven’s latest single, 'Magnolia', from their upcoming album 'Lonely People with Power', brings them back to their signature sound, growling vocals that hit deep and leave a mark. 

The song builds slowly, but once it grabs you, it pulls you into a trance, weaving a haunting atmosphere. George’s vocals are as powerful as ever, carrying that eerie, almost timeless quality. It is full of raw emotion, a wave of melancholy that crashes over you. It’s haunting, beautiful, and packed with feeling.

4) CANARY YELLOW

"Canary Yellow" stretches beyond 12 minutes, moving from quiet introspection to pure catharsis. The slow, hazy build feels dreamlike, but then it suddenly wakes you up. It’s the kind of song that makes you want to run until your lungs give out.

With its long, challenging composition, similar to most Deafheaven songs, it starts with a dreamy build-up until George’s powerful vocals kick in. Way over the 10 minute mark, it becomes much more. The track is empowering, it's structure feels like resisting something, then finally giving in and realizing it wasn’t as bad as you imagined.

3) VERTIGO

Another great, lengthy cinematic piece from Deafheaven's critically acclaimed 'Sunbather'. That middle section? Pure bliss. Guitars spiraling, drums rolling like a storm, and George screaming like he’s ripping something straight from his soul. It’s raw, messy, cinematic.

The lyrics dive into youth, distance, and life slipping away. Like most Deafheaven songs, Vertigo sounds and feels like very much nostalgia.

"Lost in the patterns of youth, and the ghost of your aches comes back to haunt you.” About Deafheaven—deep, poetic, yet brutal. This is what makes Deafheaven special.

2) GLINT

The 5th song from 'Ordinary Corrupt Human Love', What we love about this track is how it builds up- its just the right amount of time, like it's teasing you with anticipation before that epic riff slams in. The build is flawless. And the drums they're on another level, so tight, so powerful.

The lyrics hit deep, talking about loss and acceptance. It's heavy, kind of depressing, but there's something real about it. Losing someone you love is part of life, and this song captures that emotional journey of embracing the hurt and learning to move forward. It’s about accepting what you can’t control.

1) PECAN TREE

Deafheaven’s 7th track from the critically acclaimed 'Sunbather'. From the very start, it’s full speed, full blast, no warning, just pure chaos. The riff at the beginning of the song is so good, giving classic Scandinavian black metal energy, sharp and relentless. You barely have time to catch your breath before it keeps pushing forward, until it finally gives you a moment to breathe. The track moves into a place where you imagine that you're overcoming challenging times, you fought your battles and it's now time to move on. It all climaxes and the final moment of acceptance, like surrendering to all negative thoughts. 

It's hard to feel that many emotions in a single song; it feels like a full-length film with a journey packed with highs and lowsLyrics are again about longing and nostalgia, you can tell it's about yearning for something that’s slipping away, whether it's love, or maybe even a part of yourself or maybe your youth. There’s this deep nostalgia mixed with pain and longing. It’s about the feeling of being stuck in the past, knowing it’s gone but still reaching for it anyway.

Deafheaven will be at the Manchester leg of Outbreak Festival this summer alongside Knocked Loose, Danny Brown and Speed.

Words: Bella Cologlu