Blackgaze

For the sociological concept of the "black gaze", see Gaze § Oppositional gaze.
Blackgaze
Stylistic origins
Cultural originsEarly to mid-2000s, France
Deafheaven brought blackgaze to prominence with the 2013 album Sunbather.
Neige performing with Alcest in 2011

Blackgaze is a fusion genre combining elements of black metal and shoegaze.[3] The word is a blend of the names of the two genres, described by The Guardian as "the buzz term for a new school of bands taking black metal out of the shadows and melding its blast beats, dungeon wailing and razorwire guitars with the more reflective melodies of post-rock, shoegaze and post-hardcore."[2] According to Exclaim!, blackgaze "marries the harsh, alien instrumentation of black metal with the mellower, dreamy soundscapes of shoegaze."[3]

Influenced by atmospheric black metal bands like Ulver and Summoning, the genre was pioneered by French musician Neige around 2005 through the projects Alcest and Amesoeurs and has risen to prominence with the success of American group Deafheaven.[3] The Guardian named Deafheaven "blackgaze's de facto poster boys, the most likely to open up black metal to an even wider audience",[2] and Exclaim! described their second album Sunbather – the most critically acclaimed album of 2013 on Metacritic – as seminal to blackgaze.[3]

  1. ^ Michael Nelson (January 3, 2014). "Deconstructing Alcest's Shelter And Metal In A Post-Deafheaven World". Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d Howells, Tom (October 5, 2015). "Blackgaze: meet the bands taking black metal out of the shadows". The Guardian. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d Walschots, Natalie Zina (February 26, 2014). "The Translator Blackgaze". Exclaim!. Retrieved April 15, 2016.