Blackgaze | |
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Stylistic origins | |
Cultural origins | Early to mid-2000s, France |
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]
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". [4] 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". [3] [5] Deafheaven's vocalist George Clarke himself cites the work of Alcest as "the blueprint" for the band's musical direction. [4]
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, [6] most prominently after the release of Deafheaven's 2013 album Sunbather . However, this reaction was vastly overshadowed by critical acclaim for the album, which became one of the defining releases of blackgaze. [7] [8] [9] 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. [10] [11]
Shoegaze is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volume. It emerged in Ireland and the United Kingdom in the late 1980s among neo-psychedelic groups who usually stood motionless during live performances in a detached, non-confrontational state. The name comes from the heavy use of effects pedals, as the performers were often looking down at their pedals during concerts.
Post-metal is a music genre rooted in heavy metal but exploring approaches beyond metal conventions. It emerged in the 1990s with bands such as Neurosis and Godflesh, who transformed metal texture through experimental composition. In a way similar to the predecessor genres post-rock and post-hardcore, post-metal offsets the darkness and intensity of extreme metal with an emphasis on atmosphere, emotion, and even "revelation", developing an expansive but introspective sound variously imbued with elements of ambient, noise, psychedelic, progressive, and classical music, and often shoegaze and art rock. Songs are typically long, with loose and layered structures that discard the verse–chorus form in favor of crescendos and repeating themes. The sound centres on guitars and drums, while any vocals are usually screamed or growled and resemble an additional instrument.
Alcest is a French post-black metal band from Bagnols-sur-Cèze, founded and led by Neige. It began in 2000 as a black metal solo project by Neige, then became a trio, but members Aegnor and Argoth left the band following the 2001 release of their first demo, leaving Neige as the sole member. Neige began incorporating elements of shoegaze and post-metal into the project's sound from 2005 onwards and is largely credited with pioneering the fusion genre known as blackgaze. In 2009, drummer Winterhalter from Les Discrets joined Alcest, after eight years with Neige as its sole full-time member.
Le secret is an extended play by French blackgaze band Alcest, released in 1 May 2005 through Drakkar Productions. It is Alcest's first release with creator Neige as sole member, as former members Aegnor and Argoth both left after the 2001 demo Tristesse hivernale, and the only release with Neige as sole performer.
Souvenirs d'un autre monde is the first full-length album by French band Alcest, released in August 2007. The title refers to the meaning behind the music of Alcest, as its leader and songwriter, Neige, sees it as a journey through his memories of a distant world he has been in contact with.
Écailles de lune is the second studio album by French blackgaze band Alcest, released on March 26, 2010 by Prophecy Productions. It is the first Alcest album featuring Winterhalter on drums. Although it continues in the direction started with the first album Souvenirs d'un autre monde, Écailles de lune marks a darker, louder transition into shoegaze, while also coming back to the band's black metal origins as it features harsh vocals like those found on their second release Le Secret.
Deafheaven is an American post-metal band formed in 2010. Originally based in San Francisco, the group began as a two-piece with singer George Clarke and guitarist Kerry McCoy, who recorded and self-released a demo album together. Following its release, Deafheaven recruited three new members and began to tour. Before the end of 2010, the band signed to Deathwish Inc. and later released their debut album Roads to Judah, in April 2011. They popularized a unique style blending black metal, shoegaze, and post-rock, among other influences, later called "blackgaze" by reviewers.
Roads to Judah is the debut studio album by the American blackgaze band Deafheaven. The album was released by Deathwish Inc. on April 26, 2011. Roads to Judah was recorded in four days between December 2010 and January 2011.
Les Voyages de l'âme is the third studio album by French blackgaze band Alcest, released on January 6, 2012, by Prophecy Productions. An edited version of the song "Autre temps" was released as a single alongside an accompanying music video. The album was described as a musical synthesis of the previous two albums, blending shoegaze, post-rock, and black metal influences.
Stéphane Hugues Norbert Paut, known professionally as Neige, is a French songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist musician, and record producer from Bagnols-sur-Cèze, now relocated to Paris. He is the founder of the black metal/shoegaze project Alcest and also the founder for the now-defunct Amesoeurs.
Sunbather is the second studio album by the American metal band Deafheaven. After the release of their debut record Roads to Judah, the then two piece group consisting of George Clarke and Kerry McCoy began work on Sunbather under the label Deathwish and recorded in several days in January 2013. The recording process brought a third member into the fold with drummer Dan Tracy who would go on to become a permanent fixture of the band. The album was recorded in The Atomic Garden Recording Studio, owned by Jack Shirley who had been a long time producer of the band.
Kerry Dylan McCoy is an American musician, best known as the guitarist of San Francisco–based blackgaze band Deafheaven.
Shelter is the fourth studio album by French shoegaze band Alcest. It was released on 17 January 2014 via Prophecy Productions. The album's name is related to the album's overall concept of shelter, "a safe place to escape, this secret thing we all have when life is going too fast and you are full of anxiety." The album marks a significant stylistic shift for the band, fully embracing the band's shoegaze and dream pop influences while eliminating the previous metal influences, with Rolling Stone writing that the album has "more in common genetically with Sigur Rós than Satyricon."
Ghost Bath is an American post-metal band from Minot, North Dakota, formed in 2012 and fronted by Dennis Mikula. They have released four studio albums and one EP to date, melding black metal and post-rock music. They initially gained notoriety for marketing themselves as being from China.
New Bermuda is the third studio album by American blackgaze band Deafheaven. It was released on October 2, 2015 through the Anti- record label.
Bosse-de-Nage is an American band from San Francisco, California, United States, composed of four anonymous members. Considered a part of the blackgaze scene, the band performs an experimental black metal style that draws from post-rock, shoegaze, post-hardcore, screamo, and indie rock, with influences from Slint, Mogwai, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. AllMusic critic Gregory Heaney wrote that the band "crafts a sound that's as comfortable expanding outward as it is contracting into a suffocating mass of needling guitars and frantic drumming." The band's lyrics touch upon various subjects, such as sex, filth, bodies, perversion, and death. Their name is taken from French symbolist Alfred Jarry's book The Exploits and Opinions of Dr. Faustroll, Pataphysician; it is the name of a monkey which may or may not have been a hallucination of the narrator.
Moonlover is the second studio album by American post-metal band Ghost Bath. Recorded by producer Joshua Schroeder in Michigan, it was released on April 10, 2015 through, Northern Silence Productions. The album is the first Ghost Bath release after the band was revealed to be from North Dakota.
Kodama is the fifth studio album by French post-metal band Alcest. It was released on September 30, 2016 via Prophecy Productions. It is a concept album about "the confrontation of the natural world and the human world", inspired by Hayao Miyazaki's film Princess Mononoke. Musically the album is a return to the band's earlier blackgaze style, due to Neige's feeling that he "needed to go for something more punchy, darker, and more personal." Kodama is also the first Alcest album to feature bassist Indria Saray, though he has performed live with the band since 2010.
Return to Annihilation is an album from the drone rock band Locrian. It was released on June 25, 2013, through Relapse Records.