Alcest is a French band founded in 2000 by Stéphane Paut, known as Neige, initially as a solo project. Neige built the band’s identity out of his own experiences, notably memories he describes as belonging to “another dimension”. The project started out as pure black metal before opening up to shoegaze, post-rock and ambient: that mix is what gave birth to blackgaze.
Discography
- Le Secret (2005): the beginnings, between black metal and ethereal atmospheres.
- Souvenirs d’un Autre Monde (2007): the album that lays the foundations of blackgaze, airy guitars and haunting vocals.
- Écailles de Lune (2010): poetic and melancholic, between rage and serenity.
- Les Voyages de l’Âme (2012): more introspective, a dive into the soul with every track.
- Kodama (2016): inspired by Japanese culture and by the movie Princess Mononoke, a tribute to nature.
- Spiritual Instinct (2019): a return to darker sounds, between introspection and raw energy.
- Les Chants de l’Aurore (2024): brighter, a mix of dreamlike sounds and powerful passages.
Écailles de Lune
Cover of the album Écailles de Lune (2010) by Alcest
Écailles de Lune is probably Alcest’s most striking album. It holds that balance between light and darkness that makes up the band’s strength. The title track, in two parts, tells a kind of aquatic epic between dream and reality, with powerful riffs and crystalline vocals answering each other.
Whether you come from black metal or shoegaze, this album makes a good bridge between the two: rough enough for the former, floaty enough for the latter.