What is BLACKGAZE or POST BLACK METAL?
What is Blackgaze or Post-black metal?
Blackgaze or Post-black metal is a musical fusion that combines elements of atmospheric black metal, shoegaze, post-rock, post-hardcore, and other subgenres. The origin of the terms is a blend of genre names, described by The Guardian as "terms to refer to a new school of bands that take black metal out of the shadows and blend its blast beats, dungeon-like rasps, and razor-sharp guitars with the more reflective melodies of post-rock, post-hardcore, and shoegaze." According to Exclaim!, the genre "combines the heavy instrumentation of black metal with the sweeter, softer passages of shoegaze." Influenced by atmospheric black metal bands like Ulver and Summoning, the genre was initiated by the Paraguayan black metal band Sabaoth in 1999 with their second album, Windjourney, where they fused black metal with shoegaze. It later expanded when the French musician Neige, around 2005, through the projects Alcest and Amesoeurs, took it to greater levels of fusion, and it has grown prominently with the success of the American group Deafheaven. The Guardian named Deafheaven as "the de facto blackgaze boys, the ones most likely to expose black metal to an even wider audience," and Exclaim! described their second album, Sunbather—the most critically acclaimed album of 2013 on Metacritic—as transcendental for the style.
Michael Nelson of Stereogum traces the origins of the style to the early work of French musician Neige, who initiated the fusion through projects including Alcest, Amesoeurs, and Lantlôs. According to Nelson, Alcest's EP, Le Secret, "was the birth of Blackgaze," and he commented that it sounded like "a collaboration between Cocteau Twins and Burzum, with half the vocals being an angelic lullaby and the other half a raw, distant scream." Natalie Zina Walschots of Exclaim! also credits Neige as a pioneer of the genre, while mentioning that the American band Deafheaven has pushed the genre to "greater prominence." George Clarke, vocalist of Deafheaven, cites Burzum's work as "the model" for the band's musical direction.
Some more traditional black metal fans have criticized the genre, among other reasons, for its success with fans outside the metal community, especially after the 2013 release of Deafheaven's second album, Sunbather. However, this reaction was largely overshadowed by the album's universal acclaim, which became one of the defining works of post-black metal. Deafheaven has also gained wider attention and appeal due to their participation in mainstream music festivals, where they are often the only metal band performing.