Blackgaze

Blackgaze is a rock music style that fuses elements of black metal and shoegazing.[1] 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. Heavily influenced by atmospheric black metal projects like Ulver and Summoning, the genre was pioneered by French projects such as Alcest and Amesoeurs as early as 2005, but has recently risen to greater prominence with the success of groups like Deafheaven."[1] 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 2013 album Sunbather as seminal to the style.[1]

Development

Though it is a "geographically loose scene",[2] Michael Nelson of Stereogum tracks the origins of blackgaze to the early work of French musician Neige, who pioneered the fusion through projects including Alcest, Amesoeurs and Lantlôs. According to Nelson, Alcest's 2005 EP Le Secret was "the birth of blackgaze"; he noted that it sounded "like a Cocteau Twins/Burzum collaborative split" and that "[r]oughly half the time, vocals were delivered in an angelic coo; the other half, they were a raw, distant shriek".[3] Natalie Zina Walschots of Exclaim! also credits Neige with pioneering the style, while noting that American band Deafheaven has pushed the genre to "greater prominence".[1][4] Deafheaven's vocalist George Clarke himself cites the work of Burzum as "the blueprint" for the band's musical direction.[3]

Reception

Some fans of traditional black metal and heavy metal more generally have criticized the genre for its success among those outside of the metal community,[5] most prominently after the release of Deafheaven's 2013 album Sunbather. However, this reaction was vastly overshadowed by universal critical acclaim for the album, which became one of the defining releases of blackgaze.[6][7][8] Deafheaven have also managed to gather widespread appeal by way of playing mainstream music festivals, often being one of the sole metal-related acts performing.[9][10]

Notable artists

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Walschots, Natalie Zina (February 26, 2014). "The Translator Blackgaze". Exclaim!. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Howells, Tom (October 5, 2015). "Blackgaze: meet the bands taking black metal out of the shadows". The Guardian. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 Nelson, Michael (January 3, 2014). "Deconstructing: Alcest's Shelter And Metal In A Post-Deafheaven World". Stereogum. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  4. ↑ Hughes, Josiah (September 23, 2015). "The Plight of Deafheaven". Exclaim!. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  5. ↑ Stewart-Panko, Kevin (March 3, 2015). "Debunking the "hipster metal" myth". Alternative Press. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  6. ↑ Sunbather by Deafheaven, retrieved 2015-10-05
  7. ↑ "Deafheaven: Sunbather". Retrieved 2015-10-05.
  8. ↑ "Deafheaven's Sunbather Was Featured in the Apple iPhone 5c Keynote". MetalSucks. Retrieved 2015-10-05.
  9. ↑ "Hunt-Hendrix broadens black metal sound with Liturgy". Retrieved 2015-10-06.
  10. ↑ "Crossin' Over with Deafheaven's George Clarke". Retrieved 2015-10-06.
  11. 1 2 "Untrue And International: Living In A Post Black Metal World". The Quietus. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
  12. ↑ "Amesoeurs - Amesoeurs review". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2015-10-06.
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