365 Days of Metal: Rebecca Black Metal Friday vol. 12

This Friday, Rebecca gazes down at her shoes and explores the lighter, more serene side of black metal.

Day 116

Alcest - Les Voyages de l'Âme

Band Origin:  Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France
Genre: Black Metal / Shoegaze / Post-metal
Label: Prophecy Productions
Running Time: 50 minutes 
Release Date: January 6, 2012

Best Part: Probably some of the most elegant black metal inspired music there is out there.

Favorite Tracks: Là Où Naissent Les Couleurs Nouvelles, Faiseurs de Monde, Nous Sommes L'Emeraude, and Autre Temps

Grade: 4.5

--------- 

Les Voyages de l'Âme in way more than 20 words or less: 

Les Voyages de l'Âme is Neige's third full-length release under Alcest and continues to explore the fantasy world of his childhood experiences with sweeping, melodious soundscapes that exploit the black metal and post-rock to their finest potential.

The Band: 


Alcest is the solo project of musician Stéphane 'Neige' Paut formed originally in 2000 and was also at one point a three piece black metal band. Spawned from the childhood experiences of Neige and his contact with what he describes as the "Fairy Land", Alcest is the his own musical adaptation of those experiences, meant to transport the listener into the world built in his memories. Starting out as a purely black metal project, Alcest has grown to fit more into the shoegaze genre, with Neige implementing elements of post-rock/metal as well as black metal into his own unique creation.

Alcest's other releases include: Souvenirs d'un autre monde (2007), Écailles de Lune (2010) 

Jay's Take on Les Voyages de l'Âme: 

The entire ideal behind Alcest is to transport the listener into the mind, the childhood memories and experiences of Neige and his "Fairy Land". It's a journey filled with sweeping instrumental movements that cover ground between the slightly distorted guitar wailing of traditional black metal, and near-mesmerizing post-rock inspired swollen build-ups and drives. When listening to Alcest you have to be prepared to experience something that is not purely of one form or style. Les Voyages de l'Âme features moments of calm, soothing atmospheric tenderness as Neige explores the world of his childhood memories, narrated and sung in French - which is easily accessible for me, seeing as how it's my first language - but also transports you down more of a somewhat darker, harsher light in areas where the black metal influence of his music sets in. Les Voyages de l'Âme is not simply black metal, nor is it post-metal/rock, or shoegazing, or any other number of labels. It is a truly inspired piece of musical artistry that explores one of the brighter sides of musical creation - that being the ability to adapt ones inner most emotions, memories and thoughts into a form that can be shared and interpreted by others. It's hard to describe an optimal mood or setting to listen to Alcest, as the music itself is quite relaxing, soothing and elegant - something that is both a first time occurrence and most likely a rarity to be had on Black Metal Friday, but it is what it is.

Neige's earlier ventures should definitely not be ignored, as Les Voyages de l'Âme is easily the recording which strays furthest from the path of black metal in which Alcest began, but is a superb follow-up to 2010's Écailles de Lune.

Sample of the Day:



- J