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Compare

Two genres, side by side. The ratings are editorial judgements on a ten-point scale, not measurements. Where they come out level, the difference is in the prose underneath them.

First genre

DSBM1994

Second genre

Blackgaze / post-black2007

Head to headDSBM vs Blackgaze / post-black
DSBM: heaviness 8, melody 5, speed 6. Blackgaze / post-black: heaviness 7, melody 9, speed 7.Heaviness8 / 7Melody5 / 9Speed6 / 7
Each corner is a ten-point rating. The further out, the higher.

The difference, by ear

Blackgaze takes similar emotional material toward beauty and release. DSBM refuses both.

From the DSBM entry.

Both are growled or screamed, but blackgaze / post-black is much faster: 120 to 200 bpm against 60 to 140. To hear the difference, play Shining next to Alcest. Both grew out of black metal, DSBM first and blackgaze / post-black thirteen years after. France appears in the origins of both.

Put together from each genre's vocals, tempo, song length, key acts and place in the tree.

In figures

Heaviness
DSBM8
Blackgaze / post-black7
−1
Speed
DSBM6
Blackgaze / post-black7
+1
Melody
DSBM5
Blackgaze / post-black9
+4

DSBM

1994 · Sweden / France

Where it sits

Heavy metal › Black metal › DSBM

In short

Depressive suicidal black metal: slower tempos, wailing guitars and desperate vocals. The subject matter is heavy, and the genre is debated inside the scene itself.

How it sounds

  • Slower tempos with repetitive riffs in mournful minor keys.
  • Lo-fi production with distant, desperate vocals.
  • Long, monotonous structures built on repetition.

Key acts

  • Shining
  • Silencer
  • Lifelover

Start here

The pickLifelover - Pulver. The least monotonous record in the genre.

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Blackgaze / post-black

2007 · France / USA

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.

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