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Alcest

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Alcest
Alcest performing in 2020. From left to right: Zero, Winterhalter, Neige, Indria Saray
Alcest performing in 2020. From left to right: Zero, Winterhalter, Neige, Indria Saray
Background information
OriginBagnols-sur-Cèze, France
Genres
Years active2000–present
Labels
SpinoffsAmesoeurs
Members
Past members
  • Aegnor
  • Argoth
Websitealcest-music.com

Alcest is a French post-black metal band from Bagnols-sur-Cèze, founded and led by Neige (Stéphane Paut).[1] It began in 2000 as a black metal solo project by Neige, then became a trio, but members Aegnor and Argoth left the band following the 2001 release of their first demo, leaving Neige as the sole member.[2][3] Neige began incorporating elements of shoegaze and post-metal into the project's sound from 2005 onwards and is largely credited with pioneering the fusion genre known as blackgaze. In 2009, drummer Winterhalter from Les Discrets joined Alcest, after eight years with Neige as its sole full-time member.

Since its creation, Alcest has released seven studio albums and a number of EPs and split releases. Their fourth album, 2014's Shelter, marked a dramatic shift towards a distinctly shoegaze sound, while their subsequent album Kodama (2016) marked a return to their earlier blackgaze sound.[4][5] The band are widely credited with pioneering the blackgaze/post-black metal genre, particularly with their 2005 EP Le secret.[6][7]

History

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Formation and early years (2000–2006)

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Alcest was formed as a solo project by Neige in 2000.[8] 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 on lead guitar.

In 2001, the band released a 4-track demo tape entitled Tristesse hivernale on Drakkar Productions in which Aegnor 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.[8] 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, became an introduction to the new concept behind the reformed Alcest.

Souvenirs d'un autre monde and Écailles de lune (2007–2011)

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After being a one-man project for eight years, Alcest became a duo in 2009 when Winterhalter (pictured in 2016) joined as drummer.

After having signed to Prophecy Productions in March 2007,[9] Alcest's debut studio album Souvenirs d'un autre monde was released in early August of the same year,[10] and drew comparisons with the likes of My Bloody Valentine and Jesu.[8][11][12] According to Pitchfork's Brandon Stosuy, the album "isn't black metal at all", and compared it to "a lighter take on Jesu shoegazing".[13]

In August 2007, Tristesse hivernale was released by Northern Silence Productions as a split with French black metal band Angmar. The band also released a split EP with the French band Les Discrets on 30 November 2009.[8]

Alcest's second studio album, Écailles de lune (Scales of the Moon), was released on 29 March 2010. It was a highly anticipated album and was received with generally positive reviews from music critics, with AllMusic's Ned Raggett writing that the album "makes the most of its compelling fusion of black metal's theatricality and the after-echoes of shoegaze's propensity for utterly enveloping a listener, even if bandleader Neige approached that sound unconsciously at first."[14]

Les Voyages de l'âme and Shelter (2012–2015)

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Alcest at Party.San Metal Open Air in Germany, August 2013

The band's third studio album, Les Voyages de l'âme, was released on 6 January 2012. The album also received positive reviews from music critics, with The New York Times describing it as "the best example yet of what [the band] can do."[15]

Alcest's fourth effort, entitled Shelter, was released on 17 January 2014 via Prophecy Productions. It features Birgir Jón Birgisson as producer, Amiina for the string sections, and a guest appearance by Neil Halstead. Stylistically the album is a radical departure for the band, dropping all traces of metal from their sound and fully committing to the shoegaze side of their sound. Neige later said in an interview that "We are proud of it, but I think it was maybe a bit too influenced by other things. I really was obsessed with Slowdive at that time. Shelter still sounds very 'Alcest', but maybe not as much as the other records."[5]

Kodama and Spiritual Instinct (2016–2021)

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Alcest performing at Full Force in Germany, June 2019

On 15 January 2016, Neige revealed through the band's Facebook page that they started the recording of a fifth studio album.[16] He also commented the album would be "definitively darker." On 16 May, he stated that the album was in the mastering process. On 26 July, the title was revealed to be Kodama, and the release date to be 30 September.[17] Neige has said the album is heavily inspired by Japanese art and culture, as well as Hayao Miyazaki's film Princess Mononoke. Musically, the album is a return to the band's more traditional blackgaze sound.[5][17]

On 22 January 2019, the band announced that they would start recording their next studio album the following day.[18] They announced on 25 June 2019 that the album would be called Spiritual Instinct and would be released on 25 October of that same year;[19] Neige stated that its the recording "has been a long and challenging process."[20] On 23 August 2019, the band released the first single from Spiritual Instinct titled "Protection". Loudwire named the album one of the 50 best metal efforts of 2019.[21]

Les Chants de l'Aurore (2022–present)

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On 6 August 2022, Neige confirmed that the band is in the pre-production process of their seventh studio album.[22] Alcest announced Les Chants de l'Aurore as their seventh studio album 23 February 2024, set for release on 21 June 2024, alongside the album's lead single "L'Envol".[23]

Musical style and concept

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Neige's (pictured in 2011) childhood memories are a recurring theme in Alcest's music.

The band name Alcest originates from Alceste, a character from Molière's play The Misanthrope. Neige decided to use that name because of its "ethereal" sound and its representation of the project's concept; he removed the second "e" to differentiate the band from the play.[24] As a child, Neige had experiences of being in contact with a "far off country", which he generically refers to as "Fairy Land".[25] Alcest serves as the musical adaptation of the memories from this "otherworld".[8][26] Neige intends for Alcest to be a journey for the listener to this world through his memories. This change in concept was first introduced in Le Secret. Souvenirs d'un autre monde serves as a literal summation of the concept behind the band.[27]

Musically the band's sound has changed over time, beginning with their demo Tristesse hivernale that displays a very raw black metal sound,[8] before evolving into post-black metal.[28] The EP, Le Secret is considered the origin of blackgaze,[29] and the band are widely credited with pioneering the genre.[6][7] The band's sound is defined by a very atmospheric and uplifting tone, and is primarily described as post-metal[30] and shoegaze.[31][32][33][34] From Le Secret to Shelter the band drew on both black metal bands like Burzum and Ulver as well as shoegaze bands like Slowdive to create a huge wall of sound effect, using abrasive, screamed vocals, blastbeat sections, as well as fast tremolo-picked guitar passages.[6][7] Their 2014 album Shelter was a significant departure from this sound, a purely shoegaze album entirely eliminating any trace of metal influence.[4][31] However their following album Kodama was a partial return to their earlier blackgaze sound.[5]

Members

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Guitarist Zero in 2017
Bassist Indria Saray in 2017
Alcest has employed two live musicians since 2010.
Current
Current live musicians
  • Pierre "Zero" Corson – guitar, backing vocals (2010–present)
  • Indria Saray – bass (2010–present)
Former
  • Ludovic "Aegnor" Faure – lead guitar (2000–2001)
  • Argoth – bass (2000–2001)
Former live musicians

Discography

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Studio albums

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List of studio albums, with selected information
Title Details Peak chart positions
FR
[35] 		AUT
[36] 		BEL
(FL)
[37] 		BEL
(WA)
[38] 		FIN
[39] 		GER
[40] 		SWI
[41] 		US Heat
[42]
Souvenirs d'un autre monde — — — — — — — —
Écailles de lune
  • Released: 26 March 2010
  • Label: Prophecy
  • Formats: CD, LP, cassette, digital download, streaming
 — — — — — — — —
Les Voyages de l'âme
  • Released: 6 January 2012
  • Label: Prophecy
  • Formats: CD, DVD, LP, cassette, digital download, streaming
 — — — — — — — —
Shelter Released: 17 January 2014
  • Label: Prophecy
  • Formats: CD, DVD, LP, cassette, digital download, streaming, box set
 — — — — 17 28 — —
Kodama
  • Released: 30 September 2016
  • Label: Prophecy
  • Formats: CD, DVD, LP, cassette, digital download, streaming, box set
 — — 109 186 — 15 62 8
Spiritual Instinct
  • Released: 25 October 2019
  • Label: Nuclear Blast
  • Formats: CD, LP, cassette, digital download, streaming, box set
 106 63 92 — 34 12 30 6
Les Chants de l'Aurore
  • Released: 21 June 2024
  • Label: Nuclear Blast
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming
 77[43] — 132 174 — 14 22 —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Extended plays

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  • Le secret (2005, re-recorded version in 2011)
  • BBC Live Session (2012)
  • Protection EP (2019)

Split albums

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Demo albums

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Singles

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As lead artist

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List of singles, showing year released and album name
Title Year Album
"Autre Temps" 2011 Les Voyages de l'âme
"Opale" 2013 Shelter
"Oiseaux de proie" 2016 Kodama
"Je suis d'ailleurs"
"Protection" 2019 Spiritual Instinct
"Sapphire"
"L'Envol" 2024 Les Chants de l'aurore
"Flamme Jumelle"
[edit]
List of singles, showing year released and album name
Title Year Album
"Sing for the Damage We've Done"
(Harakiri for the Sky featuring Alcest) 		2020 Mӕre
"Hvítir Sandar"
(Kælan Mikla featuring Alcest) 		2021 Undir Köldum Norðurljósum
"The Run I. & II."
(Pencey Sloe featuring Alcest and JK Flesh) 		2022 Neglect
"Wings of Glass"
(Gísli Gunnarsson featuring Alcest) 		2024 non-album single

Guest appearances

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  • Feature on the Kælan Mikla track Hvitir Sandar from the album Undir Köldum Norðurljósum (2021)

References

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  1. ^ a b Ratliff, Ben (13 January 2012). "Spooky Cathedrals and Twilight Moods". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  2. ^ Neige explained: "At the beginning, I created Alcest because I really loved Black Metal and I wanted to play some. With the help of Famine (Peste Noire), I wrote four tracks with a theme based on winter and the sad feelings this season conveys.""Klemi, From dream kingdoms to metro tunnels: ALCEST / AMESOEURS, Kaleidoscope mag, Issue number 4, 2007". 6 March 2012.
  3. ^ Aegnor (aka La sale Famine) explained: "I played in ALCEST. In the beginning. I composed the best riff in Tristesse Hivernale, the searing riff of 'La Forêt du Cristal'. But at the behest of Neige, ALCEST became an Eden of elegant and overly nice fairies, the pastoral dream of a tender hobbit's brain. To put it bluntly, ALCEST became a fairytale country. So I had to carve out my own path...I took a shit in those cute flowery groves, sodomised the fairies, and put those elves to bed with a dose of rat poison to allow the song of the toads to flourish. Yes, I made PESTE NOIRE...because PESTE NOIRE was born only to fuck shit up.(Diary of PN)""KPN-V interview, April 1st, 2013". Archived from the original on 17 January 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Alcest: Shelter Album Review | Pitchfork". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d "How terror attacks and spiritualism inspired the new Alcest album". 22 August 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  6. ^ a b c Nelson, Michael (3 January 2014). "Deconstructing: Alcest's Shelter And Metal In A Post-Deafheaven World". Stereogum. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  7. ^ a b c Natalie Zina Walschots (26 February 2014). "The Translator Blackgaze". Exclaim!. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  8. ^ a b c d e f True, Chris. "Alcest Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  9. ^ "Alcest signing announcement on Prophecy Productions homepage". Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  10. ^ "Souvenirs d'un autre monde on Prophecy Productions homepage". Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  11. ^ Way, Brian. "Alcest – Souvenirs d'Un Autre Monde". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  12. ^ Kelly, Jennifer (28 November 2007). "Alcest – Souvenirs d'Un Autre Monde". Popmatters. Archived from the original on 4 August 2008. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  13. ^ Stosuy, Brandon (1 August 2007). "Show No Mercy". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  14. ^ Raggett, Ned. "Alcest – Écailles de Lune". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  15. ^ Ratliff, Ben (13 January 2012). "New CDs From Jade Alston, Jeremy Pelt and Alcest". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  16. ^ "New album. Recording started". Facebook. 25 January 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  17. ^ a b Johnson, Laura. "Alcest To Release New Album 'Kodama' In September - Stereoboard". Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  18. ^ "Last rehearsal before going to the studio and starting the recording our next album tomorrow". Facebook. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  19. ^ "Alcest to release 'Spiritual Instinct' in OctoberMetal Insider". Metaliinsider.net. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  20. ^ "ALCEST's 6th album is called "Spiritual Instinct" and will be released on the 25th of October on Nuclear Blast". Alcest's Facebook. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  21. ^ "The 50 Best Metal Albums of 2019". Loudwire. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  22. ^ "ALCEST on Instagram: "We just finished writing the drums for the new album and progressed on our pre-productions, surrounded by ethereal, inspiring landscapes. It's gonna take some time still but we can't wait to show you our new songs."". Instagram. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  23. ^ Sacher, Andrew (23 February 2024). "Alcest announce new album 'Les Chants De L'Aurore,' share 8-minute single". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  24. ^ Mystery Flame (27 January 2012). "Alcest". Rockerilla. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  25. ^ "ALCEST : Transcending Human Boundaries. (Interview with Neige)". Avantgarde-metal.com. Archived from the original on 9 September 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2011.
  26. ^ "Interview with Neige for ATMF Webzine". Archived from the original on 20 September 2007. Retrieved 6 July 2007.
  27. ^ "Interview with Neige for Todestrieb Records". Archived from the original on 8 October 2007. Retrieved 6 July 2007.
  28. ^ "My Mom Likes Deafheaven and the Future of Black Metal". Metal Injection. 25 February 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  29. ^ Jurek, Thom. "Alcest – Le Secret". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  30. ^ Grow, Kory. "10 New Artists You Need to Know: January 2014". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 27 January 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  31. ^ a b Jurek, Thom. "Alcest – Shelter". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  32. ^ "Check Out Alcest's New Shoegaze-y Track "Délivrance"". Noisey. 2 January 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  33. ^ Brown, Dean (15 January 2014). "Alcest: Shelter". Popmatters. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  34. ^ Nizam, Adam (28 September 2016). "Alcest: Kodama". Exclaim. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  35. ^ "Alcest discography". lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  36. ^ "austriancharts.at – Discographie Alcest" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  37. ^ "Discografie Alcest" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  38. ^ "Discografie Alcest" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  39. ^ "Alcest discography". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  40. ^ "Discographie von Alcest". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  41. ^ "Alcest - hitparade.ch". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  42. ^ Peak chart positions in the US Heatseekers chart:
  43. ^ "Top Albums (Week 26, 2024)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
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