Kerry McCoy didn’t set out to change the sound of metal—he just played what felt right. As the sonic mastermind behind Deafheaven, he took the genre’s harshest elements and coated them in something strangely beautiful, fusing black metal’s fury with the shimmering haze of shoegaze. Sunbather (2013) hit like a fever dream—blindingly bright, emotionally devastating, and utterly unlike anything else in heavy music. Since then, McCoy has continued to push Deafheaven’s sound into new territory, from the cinematic sprawl of Ordinary Corrupt Human Love (2018) to the lush, reverb-soaked landscapes of Infinite Granite (2021). Whether he's crafting hurricane-force riffs or dreamlike textures, McCoy isn’t just playing guitar—he’s reshaping what heavy music can be.
