ALCEST’s music can be defined as ‘spiritual’ and ‘straight from the heart’. Right from the first track to the last, the music seamlessly flows through channels of gently built emotions and takes you into a journey of your own life. The serene ambient moments remind you of your happy place and hard hitting transitions get you in terms with your own dark side. Bands like ALCEST are one of the few who dare to represent their own feelings through musical instruments without any self-imposed rigidity of genre or fan-base.
If you hear the opening track AUTRE TEMPS, the guitar infused ambience is naturally created. You realize that the band does not force themselves to fit into a genre or push to achieve a sound. This attribute is probably their biggest strength apart from their musical genius. Every song is a testimony to how these guys connect with you on a personal level without even taking any effort to do so.
Tracks like LA OU NAISSENT LES COULEURS NOUVELLES and LES VOYAGES DE L’AME are benchmarks when it comes to Post-Black Metal. The piercing yet calm vocals grip tight with the blast beats of the drums and give you an experience which is impossible to put into words. Progressive Metal fans will love the LES VOYAGES DE L’AME which showcases brilliant progressive song writing and ethereal moments. BEING OF LIGHT has the quintessential Black Metal machine-gun drums laced brilliantly with distant growls. The foreclosing track HAVENS is a dark passage to the finale SUMMER'S GLORY, which culminates in a high pitched vocal extravaganza and you just refuse to accept the end of the album.
On a personal note (though I don’t usually get personal in reviews) – ALCEST's latest offering came out when I was experiencing a rebellious but liberating phase in my life and the album was just the companion I needed. The album pulls you in on a roller coaster ride to all human emotions and grips you to the seat. One of the few albums I heard which actually shuts you off from a buzzing world around you only to take you to another celestial place altogether .
Conclusively, striking artwork, top-notch production value and start of the year release makes this album easily one of the most loved albums of this year. So also the entire album is in french.
Bottom Line
I'm not french nor do I understand the language but I could call the album my own and fit in all the emotions I myself experienced while listening to it and so can you.
