Blackgaze is a mixture of black metal aesthetics with more dreamy and mellow textures. One of the main characteristics of the genre are tremolo picking riffs creating an ethereal wall of sound, which is softer than usual black metal and resembling shoegaze (hence the name). Other common features are rapid blast beats and shrieking vocals, often interchanging with slower sections, clean singing and acoustic or post-rock-like instrumental breaks.

Blackgaze was pioneered by bands associated with a French musician Neige (most notably Alcest and Amesoeurs). Other important blackgaze performers include Lantlôs, Woods of Desolation, and Deafheaven, whose critically acclaimed album Sunbather is one of the most successful and popular records representing the genre.

Because of its post-rock leanings, the genre is commonly referred to as "post-black metal". However, that term can also mean several different styles, e.g. the Norwegian scene of avant-garde metal artists rooted in black metal (Solefald, Arcturus, Ved Buens Ende, etc.).