Blackgaze
tagStarted 2007Peak 2013-2018Last big hit still active
Located in 4 routes
Black metal's tremolo-picked fury melted into shoegaze's reverberant beauty: blast-beat drums and harrowing screamed vocals collide with luminous, major-key guitar walls and post-rock crescendos. The result swings between blackened ferocity and weeping, ecstatic uplift — abrasive blizzards of tremolo guitar that resolve into shimmering, almost euphoric melody.
History
Pioneered by France's Alcest, whose Neige transformed black metal into dreamlike reverie across the 2000s. Lantlôs and Bosse-de-Nage advanced the hybrid, but Deafheaven's 2013 'Sunbather' — featuring an Alcest guest spot — made it a critical phenomenon and the year's best-reviewed album, igniting a global wave of blackened shoegaze.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunbather_(album)
- https://www.invisibleoranges.com/alcest-ecailles-de-lune-anniversary
- https://deathdoom.com/blog/best-of/best-blackgaze-bands/