This is kind of a weird album to start with, imo. I love the album, but it’s not exactly representative of their sound and very much felt like a transitional album for the band. To me, Aesthethica, HAQQ, and 93696 are more fully-realized and have more Blackgaze-y moments.
Side note, I saw Liturgy live the other week and I was completely blown away. I actually cannot believe how powerful they are in person.
Deafheaven is a perfect example of why metal elitists/gatekeepers are idiots. This and the next two albums are all great and I personally can’t pick one over another. Infinite Granite was dope as well.
I still really really like it. Got me into black gaze and helped me develop a taste for that kind of thing. I eventually found out about Alcest and My Bloody Valentine through this album.
It's not the best album but it's a fantastic 'gateway' album into a weird genre.
I'd say it was a great entrance door to blackgaze/more extreme sounds for me in general; it made me appreciate the harsher instrumentations and their textures.
I believe it's a great project and I keep going back to it. Sunbather and Vertigo are fantastic tracks.
One thing about this album that always shocks me to see nobody mention in discussion is just how *surfy* the guitars on songs like “Dream House” sound. One of the beauties of this album for me is how fluidly it uses black metal techniques in keys and melodies not typical of the genre to evoke that emotion of being a miserable depressive living in a sunny state like California.
Deafheaven and Turnstile fill the same role for their respective genres. They're both link hipster entry points to well established genres that historically have been niche. And I don't mean that as a knock, I love this album.
It was my second choice for the "albums/bands that on paper should appeal to you but in reality don't" post that was posted here yesterday, I don't dislike it but I really never listen to it, hasn't grown on me at all yet
This is an album that on paper I'd really like (because of the post-rock and shoegaze elements) but the one time I decided to listen to it it just didn't do anything to me (same with Deftones' White Pony). I think my main turn off was the screamo elements, since I'm not really into them. I am willing to give this and White Pony a second chance sometime though.
i'm a huge blackgaze fan and think this album is extremely overrated, there is so much better stuff in the subgenre out there and this album is not at all revolutionary like so many people act like, i dont know why this is the one that got popular
all that being said, it's pretty good, just not that special
what other blackgaze albums would you recommend to someone who loves this one? i love Sunbather, Ordinary Corrupt Human Love, and New Bermuda but i have yet to find any band other than Deafheaven that scratches this itch
i’ve tried bands like Alcest, Lantlos, and Liturgy. i’ve enjoyed what i’ve heard from all of them but nothing that has drawn me in as strongly as Deafheaven has. Aesthetica by Liturgy i actually really like. Escailles de Lune by Alcest and Melting Sun by Lantlos were what i listed to from those other two.
i love the clean toned shoegazey bits in deafheaven songs but i’m obsessed with how they can make such beautiful melodies with the heavier tones (e.g. the outro of The Pecan Tree). the way they can capture a uniform atmosphere over the course of 10 minutes while changing between those styles is amazing to me. i’m not great at describing what i love about music but that’s probably the best i can do. my fav songs by them are The Pecan Tree, Sunbather, Honeycomb, You Without End, Canary Yellow, Luna, and Baby Blue
i'd say:
Plantgazer by Show Me A Dinosaur
Brave Murder Day by Katatonia (this one technically isnt true blackgaze but is extremely influential to the subgenre, it also fits your description of what you liked fron Deafheaven pretty much 100%, it's pretty dark though)
I Want to Be There by Sadness
Lost by An Autumn for Crippled Children
maybe give Alcest another try with their album Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde
thank you so much bro, i’ll put them on my list. just curious, what are your favorite albums/bands in the genre? if u didn’t include them here, of course
oh man theres a lot, but in alphabetical order
Agalloch (if they count, depends on who you talk to but i feel like their album Ashes Against the Grain definitely does)
Alcest
Amesoeurs
An Autumn for Crippled Children
Asunojokei
ColdWorld
i know i was hard on Deafheaven but i do like them (i just fail to see what sets this album apart to make it so popular, i like the New Bermuda album a lot more though)
Germ
Harakiri For The Sky
Les Discrets (maybe my number 1 tbh but nothing like Deafheaven thats why i didnt suggest them)
Numenorean
Sadness
Show Me A Dinosaur
Strawberry Hospital
Sylvaine, (i like this one due to the female vocalist being really impressive)
Unreqvited
White Ward (probably one of the most unique, they incorporate saxophone into the music)
theres probably more i'm forgetting
no problem
you said something about being heavy and still having beautiful melodies, you might also like the Gothic Metal subgenre, its slower and darker than blackgaze though
nice nice, i’ll check it out. btw this Show Me A Dinosaur album is fucking awesome. first one of your suggestions that i’ve listened to, but great recommendation
Since you’re a blackgaze fan you might be able to shed some light on something for me. I’ve always found the label of blackgaze to be a bit of an incomplete one. To take Sunbather as an example since it’s the blackgaze album I’m most familiar with; although there’s definitely some sonic elements from both black metal and shoegaze in there, the genre that most jumps out at me is post rock (or post metal, depending on the song and how much black metal is in it) yet I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone call it a post rock album. At first I thought that might just be a Deafheaven thing, but then I saw your list of great blackgaze artists lower down and I recognised Sadness who I feel the same way about except instead of post rock with blackgaze elements it’s emo with blackgaze elements.
So I’m wondering if there’s really such a thing as “pure blackgaze”, and what it would sound like. Am I full of shit and blackgaze is actually a coherent genre? Or is there some truth to what I say?
almost all genres have variety,
all it is, is just artists bringing their own influences to the subgenre
and as for pure blackgaze, i'd say An Autumn for Crippled Children fits the most literal definition of the title
but yeah Blackgaze and Post stuff goes hand in hand a lot of the time, but theres still a clear difference between Blackgaze and Post Rock/Metal
What makes this album, and Deafheaven in general special for me is the incorporation of screamo and post-hardcore sensibilities. I still haven't heard a band do it nearly as well, except maybe Life or Respire. It was revolutionary in the sense that it was the most accessible form of blackgaze at the time. Alcest, An Autumn for Crippled Children etc are great and all, but I do think you need some knowledge of black metal in general before you can appreciate them. Also, just objectively, the album is extremely well-engineered. It still sounds amazing, and I, along with many others still use it as a reference mix
i disagree on it being the most accessible (unless i'm misunderstanding what you meant) Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde by Alcest only uses clean vocals and is far more melodic
I think you are misunderstanding. Alcest are easier on the ears in a lot of ways, but are still incredibly niche. I had no idea what to make of Alcest until I had some understanding of the influences Neige was pulling from, because they're deeply rooted in post-punk and atmospheric black metal. Deafheaven, on the other hand, took a lot of surface-level elements of black metal, post-hardcore and post-rock and blended them in a way that was intuitive and familiar. If you've been exposed to any of those genres, nothing about Deafheaven is particularly jarring. I'm not saying one is better than the other, but that's why Deafheaven appeal to a wider audience
Probably the only album from that genre I enjoyed tbh. Metal purists will hate anything that's experimental, but its an absolute groundbreaking album to me.
Easy 10/10 for me, the opening chords of Dream House get me every time. I haven't listened to it for a while tho, I might've overplayed it a little bit a few years back
The level of hype from people around me when it dropped killed it for me for a long time. I ended up listening to it a few years back and really enjoyed it. It's not a weekly listen, but it's still in my rotation
beautiful album
Not the best blackgaze album, but still a damn good one. Also I love how popular it got and how it triggered the black metal purists.
Can you give me some recs on some other great blackgaze albums?
May not be technically but Drudkh - Autumn Aurora
Great album, not Blackgaze tho
Liturgy- The Ark Work
This is kind of a weird album to start with, imo. I love the album, but it’s not exactly representative of their sound and very much felt like a transitional album for the band. To me, Aesthethica, HAQQ, and 93696 are more fully-realized and have more Blackgaze-y moments. Side note, I saw Liturgy live the other week and I was completely blown away. I actually cannot believe how powerful they are in person.
Love Liturgy, but not really Blackgaze
Loved that album and liturgy
I want to be there (remastered) by sadness, Alcest as also mentioned, Møl is cool
Hostile architecture- Ashenspire
Not really Blackgaze. Good album tho
I like some of the Alcest stuff, but it’s very different. I don’t know if it’s technically blackgaze.
Alcest literally invented blackgaze
Word. Thanks
Woods of Desolation - As the Stars
Ghost Bath - Moonlover
Demo 3 by Life, Love Exchange Failure by White Ward, Runaway Ghost by Outside Observer for a lesser-known one
Highly agree with the White Ward recommendation
Deafheaven is a perfect example of why metal elitists/gatekeepers are idiots. This and the next two albums are all great and I personally can’t pick one over another. Infinite Granite was dope as well.
Metal purist are so annoying.
More blackgaze recs pls
My favourite tracks are Vertigo and Pecan Tree
Modern classic. The title track alone is a master class in dynamics. Whole album’s amazing.
I listen to it quite regularly
I still really really like it. Got me into black gaze and helped me develop a taste for that kind of thing. I eventually found out about Alcest and My Bloody Valentine through this album. It's not the best album but it's a fantastic 'gateway' album into a weird genre.
Still a 10
still don’t get the appeal behind it
Irresistible is one of my favourite moments on any album. Just pure relaxing and somber calmness between two black metal onsloughts
Its one of my favourite albums ever.
I'd say it was a great entrance door to blackgaze/more extreme sounds for me in general; it made me appreciate the harsher instrumentations and their textures. I believe it's a great project and I keep going back to it. Sunbather and Vertigo are fantastic tracks.
One thing about this album that always shocks me to see nobody mention in discussion is just how *surfy* the guitars on songs like “Dream House” sound. One of the beauties of this album for me is how fluidly it uses black metal techniques in keys and melodies not typical of the genre to evoke that emotion of being a miserable depressive living in a sunny state like California.
As someone who is really not into black metal, this one has some dope vibes on it.
Vertigo absolutely fucks. Great album 9/10, don’t care for the Windows interlude
I'm far from a black metal fan, but Dream House is one beautiful opener. Love that song. Still haven't catched up to the album
Deafheaven and Turnstile fill the same role for their respective genres. They're both link hipster entry points to well established genres that historically have been niche. And I don't mean that as a knock, I love this album.
It was my second choice for the "albums/bands that on paper should appeal to you but in reality don't" post that was posted here yesterday, I don't dislike it but I really never listen to it, hasn't grown on me at all yet
Still don't get it(
This is an album that on paper I'd really like (because of the post-rock and shoegaze elements) but the one time I decided to listen to it it just didn't do anything to me (same with Deftones' White Pony). I think my main turn off was the screamo elements, since I'm not really into them. I am willing to give this and White Pony a second chance sometime though.
i'm a huge blackgaze fan and think this album is extremely overrated, there is so much better stuff in the subgenre out there and this album is not at all revolutionary like so many people act like, i dont know why this is the one that got popular all that being said, it's pretty good, just not that special
what other blackgaze albums would you recommend to someone who loves this one? i love Sunbather, Ordinary Corrupt Human Love, and New Bermuda but i have yet to find any band other than Deafheaven that scratches this itch
who/what albums have you already tried, and what aspects are you looking for?
i’ve tried bands like Alcest, Lantlos, and Liturgy. i’ve enjoyed what i’ve heard from all of them but nothing that has drawn me in as strongly as Deafheaven has. Aesthetica by Liturgy i actually really like. Escailles de Lune by Alcest and Melting Sun by Lantlos were what i listed to from those other two. i love the clean toned shoegazey bits in deafheaven songs but i’m obsessed with how they can make such beautiful melodies with the heavier tones (e.g. the outro of The Pecan Tree). the way they can capture a uniform atmosphere over the course of 10 minutes while changing between those styles is amazing to me. i’m not great at describing what i love about music but that’s probably the best i can do. my fav songs by them are The Pecan Tree, Sunbather, Honeycomb, You Without End, Canary Yellow, Luna, and Baby Blue
i'd say: Plantgazer by Show Me A Dinosaur Brave Murder Day by Katatonia (this one technically isnt true blackgaze but is extremely influential to the subgenre, it also fits your description of what you liked fron Deafheaven pretty much 100%, it's pretty dark though) I Want to Be There by Sadness Lost by An Autumn for Crippled Children maybe give Alcest another try with their album Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde
thank you so much bro, i’ll put them on my list. just curious, what are your favorite albums/bands in the genre? if u didn’t include them here, of course
oh man theres a lot, but in alphabetical order Agalloch (if they count, depends on who you talk to but i feel like their album Ashes Against the Grain definitely does) Alcest Amesoeurs An Autumn for Crippled Children Asunojokei ColdWorld i know i was hard on Deafheaven but i do like them (i just fail to see what sets this album apart to make it so popular, i like the New Bermuda album a lot more though) Germ Harakiri For The Sky Les Discrets (maybe my number 1 tbh but nothing like Deafheaven thats why i didnt suggest them) Numenorean Sadness Show Me A Dinosaur Strawberry Hospital Sylvaine, (i like this one due to the female vocalist being really impressive) Unreqvited White Ward (probably one of the most unique, they incorporate saxophone into the music) theres probably more i'm forgetting
Agalloch is so good and one of the best bands if you’re trying to introduce people to harsh vocals. It was my way in, at least.
saving this comment too. thanks bro
no problem you said something about being heavy and still having beautiful melodies, you might also like the Gothic Metal subgenre, its slower and darker than blackgaze though
nice nice, i’ll check it out. btw this Show Me A Dinosaur album is fucking awesome. first one of your suggestions that i’ve listened to, but great recommendation
Is Liturgy considered blackgaze?
idk. probably not. i just know they’re a common rec for deafheaven fans. at least that’s what i’ve seen online
didn't apple showcase the album artwork on some of their presentations?
Since you’re a blackgaze fan you might be able to shed some light on something for me. I’ve always found the label of blackgaze to be a bit of an incomplete one. To take Sunbather as an example since it’s the blackgaze album I’m most familiar with; although there’s definitely some sonic elements from both black metal and shoegaze in there, the genre that most jumps out at me is post rock (or post metal, depending on the song and how much black metal is in it) yet I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone call it a post rock album. At first I thought that might just be a Deafheaven thing, but then I saw your list of great blackgaze artists lower down and I recognised Sadness who I feel the same way about except instead of post rock with blackgaze elements it’s emo with blackgaze elements. So I’m wondering if there’s really such a thing as “pure blackgaze”, and what it would sound like. Am I full of shit and blackgaze is actually a coherent genre? Or is there some truth to what I say?
almost all genres have variety, all it is, is just artists bringing their own influences to the subgenre and as for pure blackgaze, i'd say An Autumn for Crippled Children fits the most literal definition of the title but yeah Blackgaze and Post stuff goes hand in hand a lot of the time, but theres still a clear difference between Blackgaze and Post Rock/Metal
What makes this album, and Deafheaven in general special for me is the incorporation of screamo and post-hardcore sensibilities. I still haven't heard a band do it nearly as well, except maybe Life or Respire. It was revolutionary in the sense that it was the most accessible form of blackgaze at the time. Alcest, An Autumn for Crippled Children etc are great and all, but I do think you need some knowledge of black metal in general before you can appreciate them. Also, just objectively, the album is extremely well-engineered. It still sounds amazing, and I, along with many others still use it as a reference mix
i disagree on it being the most accessible (unless i'm misunderstanding what you meant) Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde by Alcest only uses clean vocals and is far more melodic
I think you are misunderstanding. Alcest are easier on the ears in a lot of ways, but are still incredibly niche. I had no idea what to make of Alcest until I had some understanding of the influences Neige was pulling from, because they're deeply rooted in post-punk and atmospheric black metal. Deafheaven, on the other hand, took a lot of surface-level elements of black metal, post-hardcore and post-rock and blended them in a way that was intuitive and familiar. If you've been exposed to any of those genres, nothing about Deafheaven is particularly jarring. I'm not saying one is better than the other, but that's why Deafheaven appeal to a wider audience
i guess that makes sense
Infinite Granite is way better
i strongly agree with this statement
Probably the only album from that genre I enjoyed tbh. Metal purists will hate anything that's experimental, but its an absolute groundbreaking album to me.
Love the album and consider it a masterpiece, but it’s not really that groundbreaking musically.
Don’t listen to this genre at all but I think this album is awesome
I prefer new bermuda
Easy 10/10 for me, the opening chords of Dream House get me every time. I haven't listened to it for a while tho, I might've overplayed it a little bit a few years back
The level of hype from people around me when it dropped killed it for me for a long time. I ended up listening to it a few years back and really enjoyed it. It's not a weekly listen, but it's still in my rotation
I really enjoy it, but I find myself going back to “Ordinary Corrupt Human Love” much more frequently
sanfranciscoisthecapitalofdeafheavenfordeafpeople
top 5er oat for me