The Rise of Blackgaze
Blackgaze can be a term or genre that a lot of traditional metalheads shudder over. It combines black metal’s screeched vocals, blast beats, and extreme distortion with shoegaze’s ethereal, dreamy soundscapes. This may seem immiscible at first, but these two things blend together quite well. It has become one of my favorite sub-genres of metal and I think it has a lot of room to expand in the future. Blackgaze offers something a bit different than just atmospheric or ambient black metal. The sound seems more coherent and distinct. It can be hard to differentiate it from “post”-black metal, which itself is an extremely broad and difficult genre to define.
Here is a list of 10 of my favorite blackgaze artists that you should check out if this sounds interesting to you.
Alcest (and their frontman, Neige in particular) are largely seen as the pioneers of blackgaze. Neige has been inspired by dreams of another world and spiritual experiences from his childhood. He’s converted this into some of the most ethereal music imaginable. Their music is extremely melodic and uplifting, even with bouts of harsh vocals and heaviness. There are still foreboding atmospheres found on their albums as well. Each release has a slightly different feel, but the swirling guitars and obscured vocals are always a major characteristic. Their albums are vibrant, imaginative, and completely surreal. I never thought blissfulness like this could be conveyed in metal at all. After discovering them in 2010, they quickly rose to one of my favorite bands and I highly anticipate any new material they put out.
Favorite albums: Le Secret (2011 version), Écailles de lune, Souvenirs d’un autre monde, Kodama — but there are no albums I don’t like.
Deafheaven (San Francisco, United States)
Deafheaven is often credited with bringing blackgaze, or black metal in general, into the mainstream — at least in the United States. Their albums even chart on the Billboard 200. Strangely enough, I didn’t really check them out until 2019 (their first album was released in 2011, when I was busy discovering Alcest). This is probably because if I hear metal is popular in any way, I am automatically repelled. I quite like what I’ve heard from Deafheaven so far though — which is their first two albums. It’s got everything you could want in a blackgaze band. Blast beats and raspy vocals break through that swirling, dreamlike undertone, and you’ll delightfully lose yourself in those drifting instrumentals.
Favorite albums: Roads to Judah, Sunbather
If you’ve fallen in love with Alcest, the only logical next step would be to check out other projects Neige has been involved in. Amesoeurs was a very short-lived project that is more of a proper band (Alcest was a one-man project for a while). They were very similar to Alcest but with female vocals and a slightly darker and edgier twist. Their self-titled and only full album is largely considered a masterpiece in the genre. The female vocals actually sound kind of flat and depressing, but I think that fits the music well.
I might enjoy the short and sweet EP, Ruines humaines even more than the full length, however. It is even more raw and organic, and a bit closer to actual black metal.
Favorite albums: Ruines humaines, Amesoeurs
This is another project Neige has been involved in. He provided vocals and some guitar work for two of their albums. Lantlôs has bounced around a bit as far as their direction. .neon was the album that introduced me to the band, but it’s a bit less blackgaze and more post-black metal. It incorporates progressive and jazz influences with blastbeats and shrilling cries. The drumming is flawless and the songs flow perfectly into the next.
Melting Sun is where the shoegaze inspiration really shines through though. This album strays further from metal and becomes more melodic and sleeker. The black metal shrieks are gone. There are lots of ambient breakdowns, but they never feel tiresome. Rather, they are an essential breath of air in between sections of these colossal songs. Lantlôs remain true to themselves by taking just a little inspiration from black metal and transforming it with their own ideas. They have a couple of other albums, but these two were always the most inspiring to me. They also have a new album coming out in July.
Favorite albums: .neon, Melting Sun
Another remarkably similar band to Alcest, Neige played live with them for a few years, and they’ve released a split with Alcest. They’ve also had two of the same members as Amesoeurs. The main difference is Les Discrets is even less metal. They have no harsh vocals and are more of a post-rock/shoegaze band in practice. I’m including them anyway because they’re so similar to all the aforementioned bands. They really do have a parallel vibe and some heavier parts scattered in their albums. They seem to have gone even farther off the deep end with their third album Prédateurs, though. It sounds even more stripped down and has some electronic and trip-hop elements to it.
Favorite albums: Septembre et ses dernières pensées, Ariettes oubliées…
I’ve talked a bit about Violet Cold before, in this story. This prolific one-man band has already released 10 albums in 8 years, as well as several EPs. His album Anomie really enticed me because it was unlike anything I’ve ever heard. The middle eastern instrumentation and influences are very refreshing. Violet Cold pulls inspiration from many genres, but I think most of the material I’ve heard would be considered blackgaze. There are harsh vocals among swirling guitars and some very melodic and uplifting parts. There’s a lot more in his catalog for me to check out still — otherwise I would list more albums.
Favorite albums: Anomie, Kosmik
This band reminds me of Violet Cold quite a bit although the two artists have nothing to do with each other. Both are relatively new artists who have been churning out albums really quickly. They have a similar style of ultra-melodic, uplifting, and dare I say, beautiful blackgaze littered with distant screams. They both have their more abrasive and foreboding themes as well. They are also both influenced by many genres and have quite a bit of experimentation on their albums. And as with Violet Cold, I have many more Unreqvited albums to check out still.
Favorite albums: Disquiet, Mosaic II: la déteste et la détresse
Germ is a solo project of Tim Yatras, who is a multi-instrumentalist involved in many projects. This is an odd one. The first album, Wish, is almost a straight-up melding of black metal with synthpop or electronica. I’ll talk about that more in a future article. What I’m really referring to here are the following two releases, Grief and Escape. These are much closer to a blackgaze sound, albeit with some remnants of electronic influences. There are plenty of melodic and ambient sections as well as heavier parts with harsh vocals. Honestly, the clean vocals can be a bit cringeworthy, but in any case, this is a very interesting band to check out.
Favorite album: Grief
One could say Heretoir skirts the definition of blackgaze, post-metal, depressive black metal, and post-rock. Their album The Circle is delightfully melodic while still retaining enough of that metal edge. Their self-titled album is a bit harsher and darker. I can certainly hear hints of Amesoeurs and Lantlôs in their music and hopefully, they have a bright future ahead of them.
Favorite albums: The Circle, Heretoir
Ghost Bath (North Dakota, United States)
Ghost Bath is a slightly different beast. For whatever reason, this band in particular seems to get a lot of hate. I quite enjoy them though. They are a bit more commercialized and more on the “depressive” side of blackgaze. I really think Moonlover is a solid and, dare I say, catchy album for this genre. Funeral is a very interesting behemoth that sounds a lot rawer and more organic. Acoustic guitars and even piano make an appearance, and there’s a more primitive production value. Calm, contemplative instrumental interludes abut some very chaotic sections. The bloodcurdling, wailing vocals can be a bit abrasive but one can get used to them. This is one of the more interesting albums on this list for sure.
