
Alcest
Les Voyages De L’Ame
Prophecy Productions
2012
Alcest came into being in Bagnols-sur-Ceze, France sometime in 2000 and Neige, Aegnor & Argoth were the original members. After their black metal debut demo in 2001 Neige remained the sole member, as the other two decided to leave the band. Yet, that was only the starting point for changes within the band. Subsequently, they acquired a different style composed of diverse musical elements.
With a new line-up consisted of Neige on vocals, guitars, bass and keyboards and Winterhalter (2009) on drums, the band is now balancing between alternative/progressive rock and atmospheric & symphonic metal, surrounded with bits of black metal elements. “The Journeys of the Soul” (their third album) unleashes vivid feelings of melancholy or remorse about long-forgotten desires but then again, the songs are overwhelmingly blissful. A polarity in feelings… augmented by the fact that French is preponderantly used! It might seem awkward at first, yet the more you listen to it the better you realize you can’t get enough of it. Understand the music… when the lyrics are not comprehensible. “Autre Temps” was the single release along with an aesthetically remarkable video clip. Expressing a preference in songs would be uncalled for in this particular situation, in that all of them are magnificent. Nonetheless, “Beings Of Light” is my personal favourite…
The band’s work is available as CD, Digipak CD, limited Artwork-CD/DVD and gate-fold LP with alternative cover artwork in three different colours; a beguiling creation by Fursy Teyssier. This time, Alcest have surely proven their mettle.