Alcest - Kodama

After the release of Alcest's Ecailles de Lune in 2010 (crown jewel of their discography according to many), Alcest cemented themselves as a band whose new material I would wait for with bated breath. Acting as progenitors for the musical hybrid of shoegaze and black metal, they put forth sounds that were so pristine in their serenity, it could be considered a spiritual endeavor to consume their material. But, as with many bands that pioneer a certain sound, sometimes they try to venture too far outside of what made them appealing in the first place (just ask any Opeth fan). For Alcest, this step outside the norm was with their last album from three years ago, Shelter. On this effort, they dropped any and all elements that would be considered "heavy" and fully embraced the ethereal aspects to their sound that made Shelter come across as a dream-pop album; one that was decent at its best points and tedious for all the rest of its duration. However, moving forward with their latest release, Kodama, Alcest showcases a welcome return to form, albeit a seemingly short one.

Alcest - Shelter

While it’s an unsurprising move to make, French “blackgaze” act Alcest takes out the “black” and focuses more on the “gaze” on their fourth full length release, Shelter, it still leaves a little something to be desired. Let me clarify what I mean when I say “taking out the black.” There is a complete, total, all-encompassing lack of metal influences on Shelter, which perhaps is where the concept of “shelter” comes in, but we’ll cover that in a bit. Alcest dishes out nothing but soft easy listening this time around, and while slightly disappointing it’s not necessarily detrimental to the album’s footprint.

Review: Alcest - Les Voyages De l'Åme

Released by Prophecy Productions, 2012.

Les Voyages De l'Âme is not a metal record. It really isn't. But hold on, stop me if you've heard this sort of thing before… Les Voyages De lÂme is a truly groundbreaking record for metal. Alcest, and intrinsically the solitary soul behind its green curtain, Neige (Eng: Snow), has been painstakingly rigging impassioned, congenial explosives at the base of black metal's structure for nearly a decade. But unlike Liturgy, the assault comes unwittingly from within. The reality that Alcest and its creator are slowly tearing down the walls and preconceptions of metal's most infamous and tightly wound subgenre without intent, let alone malcontent, are what make the whole process that much more fascinating. Previous efforts Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde and Écailles de Lune served as the conceptual ordinance; Les Voyages… is nothing if not the arbitrary yet definitive detonator.

Read the rest after the jump.