Alcest
 

Shoegaze/post-rock
then some even say black metal D:

Alcest is a one man band from France, yes France.


Souvenirs d'un autre monde (2007)
Link

I like :o

their first demo is indeed Black Metal but their other releases are Shoegaze, as you suggested, with some very vague hints of Black Metal.

I would not call this shoegaze personally. It seems a bit more premeditated musically, to be shoegaze; which initially was experimental. I am liking this a shítload though. Very, Very good.

well its mixed with alot of other elements so I would agree its not pure shoegaze but I still hear the qualities in the music.

Brilliant stuff, the Le Secret ep is awesome as well.

do you like Amesouers?

not heard/checking now

all they've released (to my knowledge) is a 3 song EP, but it's incredible. They're the same deal as Alcest -- French shoegaze influenced black metal-ish music with a chick singer.

Its actually a guy singing, and there is full length out by him (Alcest is one guy)

Amesouers have a full length? Can you upload that?

oh I thought you were talking about Alcest. For some reason I read like only small portions of the post then drew to some random conclusion. =/

I gave their latest one, Souvenirs d'un autre monde, a go a few weeks back and it reminded me strongly of later era Ulver.

Not half bad. I have The Secret on my comp somewhere but I've been jamming out Rwake all day and don't feel like stopping now

Alcest
 

Alcest was formed as a solo project by Neige in 2000. Soon after, the band became a three-piece black metal outfit, consisting of Neige on vocals, rhythm/acoustic guitar, and drums, Argoth on bass, and Aegnor (now known as La sale Famine de Valfunde. Famine used Neige as a session drummer and live rhythm guitarist in the early years of Peste Noire on lead guitar. In 2001, the band released a 4-track demo tape entitled Tristesse Hivernale on Drakkar Productions in which Famine wrote the main riff of the song "La Forêt de Cristal". Not long after the demo was released, the band once again became a one-man entity, with Neige taking Alcest in a more personal direction. Neige, having originally formed Alcest as an outlet to create cold and raw black metal, moved away from the minimalist approach with the follow-up to Tristesse Hivernale, entitled Le Secret. This EP, released in May 2005, is an introduction of sorts to the new concept behind the reformed Alcest. After having signed to Prophecy Productions in March 2007, Alcest's debut album Souvenirs d'un autre monde was released in early August of the same year, and drew comparisons with the likes of My Bloody Valentine and Jesu. In August 2007, Tristesse Hivernale was released by Northern Silence Productions in August 2007 as a split with French black metal band Angmar.
Alcest's second album, Écailles de Lune (Scales of the Moon), was released March 29, 2010. The band's third album, Les Voyages de L'Âme, was released on January 6, 2012.

Band concept

As a child, Neige had experiences of being in contact with a "far off country", which he generically refers to as "Fairy Land". Alcest serves as the musical adaptation of the memories from this fantasy world. Neige intends for Alcest to be a journey for the listener to this world through his memories. This change in concept was first introduced on Le Secret. Souvenirs d'un autre monde will serve as a literal summation of the concept behind the band.



Alcest - Les Voyages De L'Âme - YouTube


Alcest - Tir Nan Og - YouTube


Alcest - Là Où Naissent Les Couleurs Nouvelles - YouTube

"Black Gaze". Beautiful stuff, this 2012 release will be difficult to top this year.

count me in as a fan

even if i don't really like the shoegaze elements all that much, but it works

I don't think it would be too difficult. Compared to Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde and Écailles de Lune there's little progression in this album. Les Voyages de L'Âme is a bit disappointing to be honest, it just sounds too safe to me. There's no real memorable moments either on this album, nothing like 'Tir na n'Og' or 'Écailles de Lune (Part II)' that really give the album life. While it's not bad it could be a lot better.

I disagree, it's their most cohesive release yet and has none of the holes that the older ones had in production and composing. This record is fantastic from start to finish.

I don't understand how you could say that there are no memorable moments on it when it features the best vocal melodies that they've ever written.

I agree Zero, nothing about Voyages grabbed me. It was nice, but I think it shows that Niege is a bit of a one-trick pony

It's my personal opinion that Alcest is at their best when they go nearly 50/50 with the black metal/shoegaze dynamic. To completely drop the black metal on the newest record and not really add anything new to the formula is more of a step backward to be honest. While the new album certainly isn't bad, it just leaves me thinking that Alcest have grown stale. Hopefully the new Les Discrets album coming out this year will be a step forward for the sound and not a jog-in-place or step back.

You hit the nail on the head there. I agree and I think that's what made Écailles de Lune so great, it was the most perfect mix of black metal and post-rock/shoegaze that anyone could ever attempt.

I'm looking forward to the new Les Discrets album and hopefully it won't be a disappointment. Coming after Les Voyages de L'Âme it's going to be a make-or-break album for this style of music.

Listening to their discography now. Boring.

Yes you are but what do think of Alcest?

I like the new one quite a bit. Souvenirs d'un autre monde is still probably my favorite and Écailles de Lune is really good because it added some black metal shrieking (did Souvenirs even have any of that?). I listened to Le Secret a long time ago and thought it was pretty dull for black metal. I see it's been re-issued, anybody heard it and think it's been improved?

Anyway, I think the new one is a nice balance between the two previous albums. Like the previous two, it grabbed me instantly and I've listened to it a lot in a short period of time.

As has been mentioned though, all three albums are really similar and I'm not sure I need any more Alcest from here on out.

I think Souvenirs is pretty different from the past two. The new one is pretty much just Ecailles pt. 2.

Funny guy.

I think "boring" is particularly apt when describing Alcest. Not goingt to revisit them again, not even any new material, unless there is a major buzz, then I will flock.

I disagree with your description of Alcest but kudos for being such a maverick.

I dunno, on paper I should like Alcest. I like a lot of "blackgaze" that's come out of the woodwork, but Alcest really just doesn't do it for me. I'm left wanting something..more, if that makes any sense

Eh, I'd say the new one focuses more on ethereal atmosphere while Ecailles was more metallic and had a broader range of sounds, which made Ecailles more interesting to me. If Ecailles had been an EP that included only the first three tracks, it would have been the crowning achievement of the "blackgaze" sound IMO.

Do you find post-rock in general to be boring?

I find Alcest boring.

I love Alcest's three albums. They're so...mysterious. Listening to them is like staring into a pool of deep blue water that you can't see the bottom of.

You mean Ecailles pt. 3? ;)

A pool of deep blue water without the ability to see the bottom is a great description of an Alcest record.

I listened to the song "Autre Temps". What the **** is the appeal of this?

edit: listened to, "Écailles De Lune (Part I)". It's rare that a song manages to be both boring and saccharine, so truly the guy behind this deserves credit; it must take serious effort to create music this contrived.

He speaks the truth!


http://assets.diylol.com/hfs/1d8/d50...o_o-88fa7a.jpg

For me the appeal is that Alcest sounds like the best interpretation of late-80s/early-90s shoegaze that has been released in the last 20 years.

Also, I like black metal kinda but not nearly as much as I like My Bloody Valentine or Ride and Alcest gives me that long-lost sound along with a nice little touch of black metal aesthetics.

If I were a black metalhead like yourself I might be offended by Alcest too but.. I'm not one of those.

I have to agree that Alcest is not necessarily the most uplifting band, and you have to be in a certain mood, or just a very contemplative person to really appreciate it.

I like them a lot, but I wouldn't listen to them all the time. It's great music to ask yourself questions about life, IMO.

I bought the re-release of Le Secret a while ago and was amazed as to how much clearer the production was.
It's probably my favourite release but I enjoy their other stuff too even if their influences (Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine) get a lot more play time from me. I've always thought there was a bit of a Sigur Ros vibe going on with later albums as well…

I think you have to like shoegaze a lot and you have to like black metal a lot (ok maybe just an honest appreciation for it). If either of those things sound intolerable to you, I'm sure the band will as well.

For me, however, I love both genres and I think if there was a sound I could envision that beautifully combines the two without sounding like a gimmick, Alcest creates it.

If people don't like Shoegaze then Alcest won't appeal at all and I get that but as Engine said they marry both aesthetics extremely well without being contrived. Seeing them in August. Can't frigging wait.

I dont like this stuff. The singers vocals are gay and it's just not agressive enough for me.

Yeah, man. GAY.

..and this is exactly why Metal fans are pigeonholed as ignorant, narrow minded, thoughtless buffoons.

They are definitely not troo kvlt metal........ thank ****.

and what exactly is wrong with tr00 kvlt?