All photos by Kyle Gustafson.

“What happened?”

“He lived happily ever after.”

Cue the strings, perhaps, but also the dread of responsibility; of expectation and whatever else comes with suddenly getting everything you wanted. After a story that goes from poverty and desperation to 2013’s legit metal crossover Sunbather, this is where the members of Deafheaven find themselves on their third album. The band could have just as easily turned in more uplifting, shoegaze-y black metal as Sunbather II and called it a day. But New Bermuda is a resounding rebuttal to complacency, entrenched in darker and decidedly classic metal moves, with a seeking spirit that rages.

Deafheaven wastes no time establishing the record’s sound and themes, as “Brought To The Water” thrashes with frantic urgency and vocalist George Clarke roars, “Where has my passion gone?” For three minutes, it’s the most straightforwardly black-metal track of the band’s career, as guitarist Kerry McCoy channels Billy Corgan‘s ugly string bends over the gauzy midpoint. But Deafheaven can’t help but pretty up a dirty thing, as it all lifts to a dreamy pop melody in a major key, complete with piano coda. “Luna” follows suit with a nasty riff jammed between blast beats, and a somewhat awkward band dropout that follows a guitar solo to each section, but it’s redeemed by shimmering guitar work and Daniel Tracy’s choice, melodic drumming.

But it’s the back half of New Bermuda where the band steps out of its aggressive-to-pretty comfort zone and really throws itself against the wall. The mid-tempo centerpiece “Baby Blue” is a hypnotic Red House Painters sad jam that turns into a slo-mo Metallica ballad, complete with wah-wah solo. Clarke’s closing line even evokes James Hetfield at his most desperate: “God had sent my calamity into a deep space from which not even in dreams could I ever imagine my escape.” If that mix of styles isn’t strange enough, doomy South Of Heaven-era Slayer somehow sets “Come Back” up for a Wilco-inspired slide guitar and a languid exit that takes a page out of Starflyer 59’s lounge-gaze phase.

Still, “Gifts For The Earth” is where Deafheaven really raises the stakes. For two minutes, guitarists Kerry McCoy and Shiv Mehra pulse clean-toned power chords with the rhythmic urgency of mewithoutYou‘s “January 1979.” But where that song drives the melody in start-stop sing-song, “Gifts” breaks down in a samurai-slicing riff worthy of its dramatic build as Clarke hisses, “I imagine the end” in a reptilian sneer. McCoy has said that the melodic climax pays homage to Oasis, but it’s more “Hey Jude” than “Champagne Supernova.” (Go ahead, insert your own na-na-nas where necessary, and piss off the Gallagher brothers once more with a Beatles comparison.) It’s Deafheaven at its most electric and exploratory — a place of discovery for a band that isn’t afraid to expose its roots and find genuine expressions within them.

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A Sound of Thunder, MindMaze, Iris Divine, and Metanium
Friday, June 6 at the Pinch, $10

Local power-metal quartet A Sound of Thunder doesn’t often play within D.C.’s borders, so this is a rare chance for Metro-dependent fans to catch its crazy guitar riffs and thunderous lead vocals live. ASOT is one of the more prolific local metal acts, having released an album each of the last three years, with another one due out this year, so it’s always adding new tunes to its set. Joining A Sound of Thunder are the Pennsylvania power metal band MindMaze, local progsters Iris Divine and Metanium. (CPL)

Janka Nabay and The Bubu Gang
Friday, June 6 at Tropicalia, $10 to $13

Janka Nabay and The Bubu Gang’s En Yay Sah was one of the most exciting D.C.-affiliated albums to come out in 2012. Around the time of its release, Nabay—originally from Sierra Leone—was working here, on Fojol Bros. food trucks. His band was also one of the first acts to play Tropicalia when the club opened in the fall of 2012. Nabay hasn’t released much new music since that fine LP, but the speedy sound of his very own bubu genre hasn’t aged whatsoever since he first brought it to D.C. listeners’ attention. (Ally Schweitzer)

Nothing, Superheaven, Myrrh Myrrh
Saturday, June 7 at DC9, $14

Philadelphia’s Nothing features a Dominic Palermo from the hardcore band Horror Show, but this new project has far more of a shoegaze sound than a punk one. It’s not a surprise that Palermo has left his aggressive side behind: After a 2002 knife fight, Palermo spent two years in prison for assault and attempted murder, eventually starting the Nothing project in 2011. It’s a good transition: Nothing’s debut, Guilty of Everything, is reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine with its distortion and indistinguishable vocals. Nothing will be joined by Pennsylvania rock band Superheaven and local newcomers Myrrh Myrrh. (CPL)

Typefighter
Saturday, June 7 at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, free

The Kennedy Center has a free show every day at 6 p.m. as part of its Millennium Stage series, and once in a while, they team up with local promoter Listen Local First to bring D.C. artists to the stage. This month’s LLF show features D.C. garage-pop quartet Typefighter, who will certainly be playing a lot from its new album, The End of Everything. (CPL)

Babe Rainbow and Rich Morel’s Hot Sauce
Saturday, June 7 at the Black Cat (backstage and mainstage), $10

It’s Capital Pride week, and there are events all over the city. During the day on Saturday, dance the day away to the sounds of Rita Ora, Betty Who, DJ Cassidy, Bonnie McKee, and Karmin. At night, move the party up to U Street, where DJs are taking over the entire Black Cat: downstairs, you can boogie to the Rich Morel half of Blowoff, and upstairs you can blow off steam to a whole cadre of DJs that you’ve heard at Gay/Bash, Cobalt, and BearZerk. (CPL)

Deafheaven, Pallbearer, Wreck & Reference
Tuesday, June 10 at Rock & Roll Hotel, $15

With the release of Sunbather last year, Deafheaven eclipsed Liturgy as the most buzzed-about hipster black-metal band. This isn’t trve black metal, though: imagine shoegazer instrumentals with black-metal vocals on top, and you’ll get a pretty good picture of how Deafheaven sounds. Opener Pallbearer is a fantastic doom band from Little Rock, Arkansas, and the first band of the night is California’s Wreck & Reference. (CPL)

Other notable shows:

Beautiful Swimmers, Sami Y. and Jane Junior at Lost Society (Thursday); Feedel Band at Bossa (Thursday); Pharoah Sanders at Blues Alley (Thursday through Sunday); Spoonboy, Colour Me Wednesday, and The Goodbye Party at DC9 (Friday); The Men, Heavy Breathing, and Passing Phases at Rock & Roll Hotel (Saturday); Future at Fillmore Silver Spring (Sunday); Ratking, Show Me the Body, Sir E.U at DC9 (Tuesday); Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 at Howard Theatre (Wednesday).

These and other show listings can be found on ShowListDC.