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 Ameseours 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] Stereogum's Michael Nelson attributes the birth of the genre to the early work of the French musician Neige, who pioneered the blackgaze sound through Alcest, Amesoeurs, Lantlôs, and other projects. According to Nelson, Alcest's 2005 EP 'Le Secret' was "the birth of blackgaze", noting that the EP sounded "like a Cocteau Twins/Burzum collaborative split" and that "Roughly half the time, vocals were delivered in an angelic coo; the other half, they were a raw, distant shriek".[3] Exclaim!'s Nathalie Walschots likewise credits Neige with pioneering the genre but also argues that the American band Deafheaven has pushed the genre to "greater prominence".[1][4] George Clarke of Deafheaven himself cites the work of Burzum as "The blueprint" for Deafheaven's musical direction.[3]

Reception

Some members of the metal community, most typically fans of traditional black metal, have criticized the genre as being "hipster metal" or "emo in a black metal disguise" due to the genre's widespread appeal outside of the metal community and the emotional landscape of their imagery distancing itself from the traditional dark themes of black metal. As a result of this, traditional fans of the prototype black metal genres feel that themes of love & courage are a cheap attempt to make black metal accessible to a more modern and Post-hardcore audience of angsty teenagers that are not mature enough to understand its cultural aspects or themes and its anti-commercial message stating that genre isn't for everyone.[5] This reaction was felt most particularly following the release of and widespread critical acclaim of Deafheaven's 2013 sophomore release Sunbather. Despite this reaction from a smaller portion of the metal community, the album was universally well received by critics and music fans alike, and quickly became one of the genre's defining releases[6][7][8] Blackgaze bands like Deafheaven have also managed to breach into mainstream appeal by way of playing mainstream music festivals, oftentimes 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 (26 February 2014). "The Translator Blackgaze". Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Howells, Tom (5 October 2015). "Blackgaze: meet the bands taking black metal out of the shadows". the Guardian. Retrieved 15 April 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. ↑ "Debunking the "hipster metal" myth - Alternative Press". Alternative Press. Retrieved 2015-10-05.
  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. ↑ "Amesoeurs - Amesoeurs review". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2015-10-06.
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