Predecessors ' combination of
doom metal,
hardcore punk, and
avant-garde approaches has been a key influence on post-metal bands. The groundwork for post-metal was laid in the 1980s and early 1990s by various artists (mostly in the US) combining
heavy metal and
punk rock sounds with an "
avant-garde sensibility", such as the
Melvins (particularly on 1991's
Bullhead),
The Flying Luttenbachers,
Justin Broadrick of
Napalm Death and
Godflesh, Many of these artists emerged from
hardcore punk and
post-punk circles but their combination of sonic violence with experimentation and
eclecticism made them difficult to categorize under any one genre. In 2010, guitarist
Steve Von Till stated: The band's 1996 fifth album
Through Silver in Blood was credited by
Terrorizer with "effectively invent[ing] the post-metal genre" and named the best post-metal album of all time by
Fact. Similarly, drone metal pioneers
Earth have been significant to post-metal ever since their 1991 debut release
Extra-Capsular Extraction. According to Jahdi, the genre emerged as "those young intellectuals decided to slow it down" and labels such as
Relapse Records and
Hydra Head Records began releasing "slower, more bass-heavy and abstract" music more akin to post-rock. and
Year of No Light from France, who have transitioned from a sludge-oriented sound to monumental instrumental compositions, "beautifully layered, but still dark and heavy". Back in the US, another instrumental band rose to prominence:
Russian Circles, also strongly influenced by
Oceanic. By contrast,
True Widow, whose sound is rooted as much in 1990s
indie rock and
psychedelic rock as in doom metal, offer a distinctive take, most impactfully on the 2013's
Circumambulation, by employing "male/female vocal interplay" and showcasing "vulnerability and restraint". Meanwhile, the Melvins returned to the sound they themselves helped inspire, impacting it with the 2004 album
Pigs of the Roman Empire, a collaboration with Welsh
dark ambient composer
Lustmord. have brought the genre widespread critical acclaim in their fusion of
black metal and
shoegaze. Gradually, post-metal as a genre has achieved major critical acclaim. This was reinforced by the "widely publicized" success of California band
Deafheaven, whose second album
Sunbather became one of the most celebrated releases of 2013. The band's successful fusion of caustic black metal with blissfull shoegaze in the vein of
My Bloody Valentine and
Slowdive, although preceded by the French musician
Neige of
Alcest, was nicknamed
blackgaze and met with controversy among fans of conventional
extreme metal. It has also inspired a new wave of bands such as:
Ghost Bath from North Dakota, who use undistorted guitar melodies to develop unsettling atmospheres; Austria's
Harakiri for the Sky, whose despairing sound melds black metal and post-hardcore; and the recent work of
Oathbreaker, who are rooted in the Belgian dark hardcore scene of Amenra. ==Characteristics==