The difference, by ear
Both build to consonant peaks over long forms. Post-metal comes from sludge and screams; this comes from black metal and shrieks.
Post-metal / atmospheric sludge is part sung, part screamed where blackgaze / post-black is growled or screamed, and much slower: 60 to 120 bpm against 120 to 200. To hear the difference, play Alcest next to Neurosis. They share a root in heavy metal, and post-metal / atmospheric sludge came first, by ten years. United States appears in the origins of both.
In figures
Blackgaze / post-black
Where it sits
Heavy metal › Black metal › Blackgaze / post-black
In short
Black metal tremolo over shoegaze harmony: the same density, but the result comes out luminous instead of frozen.
How it sounds
- Black metal tremolo picking over major or modal, luminous harmony.
- Walls of guitar with reverb and delay, in the shoegaze tradition.
- Screamed vocals mixed under the instruments, as texture.
Key acts
- Alcest
- Deafheaven
- Lantlôs
Start here
The pickDeafheaven - Sunbather. It opens with nine minutes that justify the whole genre.
Full page →Post-metal / atmospheric sludge
Where it sits
Heavy metal › Doom metal › Sludge metal › Post-metal / atmospheric sludge
In short
Sludge with post-rock logic: long songs, crescendos and instrumental passages. Neurosis invented the form.
How it sounds
- Eight- to fifteen-minute pieces with long crescendos in post-rock logic.
- Delay and reverb guitars for the quiet passages, massive distortion at the peaks.
- Vocals used sparingly, as an accent, often howled from a distance.
Key acts
- Neurosis
- Isis
- Cult of Luna
- Russian Circles
Start here
The pickIsis - Oceanic. The most accessible album in the genre, and no weaker for it.
Full page →