Black
Metal has traveled a long and winding road to end up to where it is today, with bands seeking to constantly push the envelope to add new and previously unheard of sounds into the standard Black
Metal template. The start of the 21st century saw an influx of Black
Metal bands melding elements of Shoegaze and Post Rock into their sound, the sound pioneered by French band
Alcest and American band
Velvet Cacoon has seen a huge surge in popularity. The style now known as “Blackgaze” has been greeted to a mixed response from the Black
Metal community. Some see it as a way of moving the genre forward, a way of revitalizing what many refer to as a dying genre. Whilst others see it as a bastardization of what Black
Metal stands for, a complete turn around from the genres primary aesthetic pioneered by the Norwegian forefathers. Whereas Black
Metal is chaotic, dissonant and hostile with a primary focus on evil and the macabre, Blackgaze is sunny and bright with a lush and melodious sound designed to induce feelings of happiness and euphoria, a far cry from what the genre has typically stood for. Of course throughout Black
Metal’s history there have been bands to turn their back on Satanism and the
Occult,
Burzum and
Immortal were some of the first Black
Metal bands to not include Satanism into their lyrical themes, focusing on other topics such as Paganism and the realm of Blashyrkh in the case of
Immortal to create a dark and foreboding atmosphere. Although a rejection of Satanism isn’t a new thing in Black
Metal circles, bands have been expressing themselves through the use of other lyrical topics since the genre’s dawn. The whole concept of a Black
Metal sound that can be considered “happy” is a relatively new theme,
Alcest were possibly one of the first bands to play a Black
Metal sound that lacked any underlying sense of darkness and the macabre.
Alcest’s first album entitled Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde lacked anything that made Black
Metal black in its sound, favoring a sparkling and bright sound in favor of the frost bitten and necro productions of the past, Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde divided the Black
Metal crowd into two groups, those that loved it and those that hated it with very little middle ground for Black
Metal fans to settle in. Either you appreciated the sound that
Alcest was bringing to the table or you despised it for going against every single rule of the genre. Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde and
Alcest’s first E.P. Le Secret and
Velvet Cacoon’s Genevieve were some of the first releases to fuse Black
Metal with elements of Shoegazing and Post Rock. However whereas
Velvet Cacoon still favored a murky and misty production to create a hypnotic and surreal atmosphere in keeping with other bands of the Atmospheric Black
Metal cartel,
Alcest on the other hand were creating music that was barely Black
Metal by the usual standards. Favoring a cleaner production, lyrical themes about fairytales and a generally light and sunny sound,
Alcest sent waves through the Black
Metal community with Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde, despite that albums Black
Metal elements being miniscule at best, Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde ushered in a new age of Black
Metal, the rise of Blackgaze. Blackgaze was sure to garner negative stigma from Black
Metal circles, after all the concept of “purism” is rife within the Black
Metal scene and any signs of tampering with the genre in any way is seldom welcome. Blackgaze is seen as sacrilege, a complete bastardization of what the genre should stand for, something they wish had never happened. This close minded bigotry is rife within the Black
Metal scene and results in bands such as
Alcest being attacked by the online Black
Metal community. Of course Black
Metal purists by nature strictly adhere to the style created by the Norwegian forefathers and will thus hate any form of experimentation. Frankly I’ve never felt that Black
Metal should remain constricted, I don’t feel like it should still be bound by the Norwegian scene, I welcome experimentation into the music, I like it when bands are able to come up with new and exciting ways to express Black
Metal. As such I am a huge fan of Blackgaze, I think when it is done correctly it can create some of the most beautiful Black
Metal hybrids.
If we were to look at Black
Metal more as an ideology, a way to express darkness and negativity rather than from a musical stand point, then
Sweet Dreams by
A Light in the Dark is about as un-Black
Metal as you can possibly get. The sound lacks any underlying sense of misery and despair,
Sweet Dreams is a complete turn around from what the genre has classically stood for. There is no sense of malice and hatred within
Sweet Dreams, quite the opposite in fact.
Sweet Dreams is about as sunny and atmospherically bright as Blackgaze can possibly get, the music is soft and harmless, there is no hatred on
Sweet Dreams, everything radiates happiness. Of course being a huge fan of Depressive Black
Metal and other dark and dismal forms of music, the sheer level of hopefulness and joy can get a bit too much to stomach. After all Black
Metal is meant to give off a dark and hostile atmosphere, it is macabre and evil where as
Sweet Dreams is merry and euphoric. Therefore I think it is best to not approach
Sweet Dreams as a Black
Metal album, after all it lacks anything that the genre has classically stood for. Sure the guitars are fairly distorted but when we look further deep into it do we see that this album barely qualifies as Black
Metal, the guitars are not tremolo picked, there’s no wretched vocals (or vocals at all for that matter), very little blast beating, no hatred, no malice. Even the production is sparkling; the distortion on the guitars is more in line with Shoegaze bands such as Slowdive rather than a band like
Darkthrone. The music is unashamedly soft and sunny, having far more in common with the previously mentioned Slowdive than the bands from the second wave.
Black
Metal by nature is a genre that is meant to be dark, it is meant to be bleak, even lighter bands such as
Catamenia and
Forest of Fog had some degree of darkness despite creating much more accessible and lighter versions of the genre, they didn’t forget the underlying sense of darkness that this genre is supposed to emanate. Whilst there are some bands of the Blackgaze lineage that don’t forget the underlying sense of misery and despair, with bands such as Shroud of
Distress and
Trancelike Void creating far more darker and bleaker varieties of Blackgaze. For the most part however, Blackgaze is a complete rejection of the genres primary core beliefs.
On that note
Sweet Dreams can be described as Blackgaze being taken to its logical extreme, a complete rejection of what Black
Metal stands for, a complete turn around from what the genre should typically be about. Even from looking at the cover depicting a serene tropical landscape, it is pretty clear what
Sweet Dreams is going to entail, sweet and sunny Blackgaze that barely qualifies as Black
Metal. The music is overwhelming in terms of how bright and harmless everything is, whatever Black
Metal is in
Sweet Dreams is minimal at best, there are no vocals, the album is completely instrumental. Although wretched vocals would add some semblance of darkness and gloom into the music, the album is just so nonthreatening in its delivery that rasped vocals would just simple be incongruous with the music. The music is soft, highly melodic and more Post Rock than anything that can be considered metal. The guitars despite being distorted, are only marginally so, they lack the raw and grim tone that Black
Metal has become typically known for and isn’t harsh or abrasive on the ears, being lush and tranquil. The use of cleaner guitars only adds to the lightness of the music. The synth work in particular is what really prevents this album from being malicious, the keyboards are so happy and sweet it’s almost sickening. A far cry from the usual harrowing ambiance the genre has become known for.
Sweet Dreams completely blows Sunbather out of the water in terms of how sweet and sensitive the music is, whereas Sunbather actually had elements of Black
Metal fury and extremity despite being atmospherically light,
Sweet Dreams lacks any essence of anger and hatred. The music never reaches a point where I am able to comfortably call it Black
Metal, as the band works on a similar wavelength as the British band
Sleeping Peonies. A band frequently tagged as Blackgaze despite having more in common with
Dream Pop and Shoegaze than anything metal related. The final track When The Time Stops shows just how sensitive this type of music can get, with an emotional and beautiful keyboard playing with what sounds like violins (I am unsure if they are real or synthesized) floating over the music. There’s even a flute in there as well that just adds to the sensitivity of the track.
Whereas
Sweet Dreams can admittedly become too sweet and cheerful, the music is admittedly well performed and is quite beautiful. Don’t go into this album expecting Black
Metal though as this album will surely horrify, Black
Metal purists will be shocked and horrified at
Sweet Dreams and I am quite surprised as to how soft and gentle this music is capable of becoming. At times the happiness becomes almost too much, being a man who likes his music to be dark and depressing,
Sweet Dreams is a little out of my comfort zone. Although for what it is I do like it, it might be a bit too sweet for me although I can’t exactly fault it for doing what it was trying to do in the first place. If you want to see how unimaginably bright and sunny this style of music can get then get
Sweet Dreams as soon as possible, it is by far as un-Black
Metal as Blackgaze can possibly get. I can’t help but feel really wimpy and sensitive whilst listening to
Sweet Dreams. Black
Metal purists stay well away.
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