One of my favorite things about Deafheaven’s Sunbather (besides, you know, listening to the music on the album itself) was the very particular skepticism it engendered — not the “Keep hipsters out of metal!” stuff, but the constant, endless cries that Deafheaven were not treading new ground, but were instead merely popularizing a sound originally established by the Japanese band Envy. “WHY ARE YOU WRITING ABOUT DEAFHEAVEN WHEN YOU COULD BE WRITING ABOUT ENVY INSTEAD? WHY WOULD I LISTEN TO DEAFHEAVEN WHEN I COULD LISTEN TO ENVY INSTEAD?” Every time, man. Never failed. As someone who wrote a lot about Sunbather, I heard that refrain so many times that I eventually grew to love it — it heartened me to know that so many people in the world knew and cared about this semi-obscure, hugely influential, absolutely breathtaking post-rock/screamo band from Japan. As well they should! Envy are great (and Deafheaven are great, too), and the only reason I wasn’t writing about them was because they didn’t have anything new to write about. NOW THEY DO! The band just announced a new album, Atheist’s Cornea, which is their first LP since 2010’s Recitation. And with that announcement comes a new song called “Blue Moonlight.” RIYL: Deafheaven. Seriously, it’s so fucking awesome. Listen.

Atheist’s Cornea is out 7/10 via Temporrary Residcne. Pre-order it here.