All Alcest Songs Ranked
I did it with Tool, and now it’s time for Alcest. Another favorite band of mine, they also have the right amount of songs for a ranking of them all. This project was started by a French musician named Neige, who was inspired by childhood memories of experiencing some kind of connection to a mysterious, far off land that he’s referred to as “otherworld” and “Fairy Land.” If you read an interview of how he explains it, it’s pretty interesting and I want to believe him. And that such a place exists that’s attainable to be in one day. Anyways, this band is his creative outlet to express those memories, emotions, and ideas in musical form, writing all the music and lyrics himself. As I and many others do not speak French, I also saw this as an opportunity to have a reference point for all the English translated song titles as well. There was technically a demo from 2001 under the Alcest name, but it was more straightforward black metal apparently and with other musicians. No one’s heard it and I never see anyone mention it, so I’m not going to count it for this list. The point is that after that, Alcest became the amazing band that it remains to this day by pioneering an innovative musical style that combines elements of black metal, shoegaze, dream pop, and post-rock for a wonderfully intoxicating result. Drop your favorite songs in the comment section. |
| 44 |  | Alcest
Kodama
Onyx: A soundscape closing Kodama, sounding like the inside of a volcano or something. |
| 43 |  | Alcest
Écailles De Lune
Abysses: Another soundscape, but shorter and aquatic sounding. |
| 42 |  | Alcest
Les Voyages De L'Âme
Beings of Light: A 6-minute song of ladies “aaaahhhhing” in heavenly voices, and two minutes in comes some wall-of-sound blackgaze with typical Alcest chord changes. Even if I prefer everything else they’ve done (aside from the soundscapes), it’s not bad or anything. Works in the context of the album, not really as a stand-alone song. |
| 41 |  | Alcest
Spiritual Instinct
Sapphire: From Spiritual Instinct comes their most mainstream song in my opinion, and aside from the brief metal section with bm vocals, could be played on the radio. Very generic rock song structure, but maybe Neige wanted to try writing a song like that. Perfectly acceptable but not a good representation of what this band is capable of. |
| 40 |  | Les Discrets/Alcest
Split
Circe Poisoning the Sea: A melancholic instrumental of just vocals and guitar. It doesn’t change a whole lot and could basically be an album intro or interlude. |
| 39 | | Alcest
Les Voyages De L'Âme
Havens: A pretty two-minute instrumental that I like a lot. |
| 38 | | Alcest
Spiritual Instinct
Protection: Marginally better than Sapphire, this is another simple track on Spiritual Instinct that is okay but not a great example of what this band can do. This one has some energy to it and would be a good pump-up song for a workout or something I’d imagine. |
| 37 |  | Alcest
Shelter
Shelter: The title track from their fluffiest, softest record to date is of course pretty. I think though it falls into the realm of cheesiness, which is something this band is impressively able to avoid much of the time while having this lighter and more ethereal atmosphere than other blackgaze bands. They of course started that musical style, and do it best. |
| 36 | | Alcest
Spiritual Instinct
Les jardins de Minuit (The Midnight Gardens): This song is fine, but I can’t help but think it almost sounds like a different, lesser metal band trying to write what they think an Alcest song sounds like. It’s one of their heaviest to date, and there’re some great bass lines too. Everything’s seemingly in place, but it’s just not all that memorable or special to me. |
| 35 | | Alcest
Kodama
Notre sang et nos pensées (Our Blood and Our Thoughts): An enjoyable instrumental bonus track from Kodama that builds well and has some emotional impact. |
| 34 | | Alcest
Shelter
Away: A nice, quiet acoustic ballad. Neige got to live his dream I assume of meeting and playing with Neil Halstead of Slowdive, which I think is his biggest influence and favorite band. |
| 33 | | Alcest
Spiritual Instinct
Spiritual Instinct: The closer of my least favorite Alcest album is pretty solid. There’s a whole lot of “oooohhhing” and “aaaahhing” throughout, but it’s varied enough to stand out and sounds strong to me, not sure how else to put it. This whole album is their most metallic. |
| 32 |  | Alcest
Souvenirs D'Un Autre Monde
Ciel errant (Wandering Sky): My least favorite on the debut is still quite good, with some twinkly guitar melodies and pretty ambitious song structure. It’s probably one of the more dynamic songs from the early period of the band. |
| 31 | | Alcest
Les Voyages De L'Âme
Nous sommes l’émeraude (We Are the Emerald): The shortest song they’ve made besides the instrumentals; this is condensed Alcest that gets to the point. I like it quite a bit, being a good little sampler of what they can do. I wish it was even longer to be honest, because there are some very pretty moments on here that go by fast. |
| 30 | | Alcest
Souvenirs D'Un Autre Monde
Sur l’autre rive je t’attendrai (On the Other Shore I Will Wait for You): Despite the first main part of this sounding a bit sappy to me, it becomes pretty great afterward. There’s a nice mysterious guitar melody in the second half, pretty female vocals by Audrey Sylvain (who would go on to have a great discography of her own) then the song calms down for a moody outro. |
| 29 | | Alcest
Shelter
Wings/Opal: The introduction of their clean, shoegaze/dream pop sound on Shelter is a very catchy and pretty song that could be on mainstream radio. The chorus is just so likable and sort of addicting. Simple and effective feel-good song. |
| 28 |  | Alcest
Le Secret (Re-release)
Elevation: One of their earliest songs, this has the most to do with atmospheric black metal than any of their others. It’s a too long and repetitive to justify the run time, but the second half is excellent and foreshadows the band’s greatness. |
| 27 | | Alcest
Shelter
L’Éveil des muses (The Awakening of the Muses): A nice post-rock song that glides along with an enveloping atmosphere. It’s a bit long and repeats itself without a lot of variation, but a pleasant listen. |
| 26 | | Alcest
Spiritual Instinct
Le Miroir (The Mirror): One of the best on Spiritual Instinct that’s essentially one long build-up with some nice, recurring chiming sounds (not sure how else to describe them) that get louder as it goes along. It doesn’t really climax with a gorgeous soundscape or anything, but just ends and transitions to a pleasant clean guitar outro. |
| 25 | | Alcest
Kodama
Oiseaux de proie (Birds of Prey): My least favorite song on Kodama is still pretty great, and I probably overplayed it since it was the first single released for the album. It’s one of their heaviest tracks to date, having a triumphant tone and I imagine one of their most complex to play. |
| 24 | | Alcest
Shelter
La Nuit marche avec moi (The Night Walks with Me): Very strong mid-tempo post-rock on Shelter with an earworm of a lead guitar line. |
| 23 | | Alcest
Kodama
Untouched: This is one that could’ve been on Shelter. The lead guitar melody is absolutely gorgeous in the soaring chorus, which is really the anchor of the song and basically justifies the whole thing. Wise idea to have a more straightforward track after three amazing epics that came right before it in the album. |
| 22 | | Alcest
Spiritual Instinct
L'île Des Morts (The Island of the Dead): The best that Spiritual Instinct has to offer, delivering some classic Alcest songwriting. There’s also a fantastic bridge section that’s probably the album highlight. The longest on the album and sounds to me like it almost could have been from Kodama. |
| 21 | | Alcest
Shelter
Délivrance (Deliverance): The fan favorite closer of Shelter is a masterful post-rock song that lends a lot to Sigur Ros. I used to think the middle section was too long and repetitive, but over time it had more of an effect on me and I love how it develops now. |
| 20 | | Alcest
Le Secret (Re-release)
The Secret: Their other early song with Elevation that sounds a bit proto-Écailles de lune (Moon Scales) to me. A great, moody intro leads into a long wall-of-sound that’s varied enough to be engaging. |
| 19 | | Alcest
Souvenirs D'Un Autre Monde
Tir nan Og (in Irish: Land of the Young): Apparently this also refers to a lush, magical land in Gaelic mythology where faeries reside. This is a funny one, with a goofy and almost Disney song kind of piano playing in the intro and outro, with what sounds like a bongo drum. There’s a very nice moody guitar interlude in the middle, which adds a more mysterious flavor to this off kilter track. Somehow it all actually works really well. |
| 18 | | Alcest
Shelter
Voix sereines (Serene Voices): One of my favorite songs from Shelter, this is a masterful exercise in poppier post-rock with a slow building, quiet intro gradually developing into one of the best sections of music Neige has made in my opinion, despite only being about 16 seconds long (2:48-3:05). Then the 2nd half is a nice, repeating variation of harmonies from the earlier melodies, then climaxes perfectly before settling down with a quiet ambient outro. That’s how it’s done. |
| 17 | | Alcest
Les Voyages De L'Âme
Summer’s Glory: One of their most epic and underrated. Like a lot of their album closers, Summer’s Glory leans more toward a more comforting listen but is no less complex. The second half is a heavenly section of music that may sound too fluffy to some, but I just love it. |
| 16 | | Alcest
Souvenirs D'Un Autre Monde
Printemps émeraude (Emerald Spring): The opener of their debut album wonderfully introduces their sound to the world with a laid back tempo and beautifully layered guitar harmonies. There’re some very nice folky acoustic guitar interludes as well. A perfect representation of their early sound. |
| 15 | | Alcest
Les Voyages De L'Âme
Les Voyages de l'âme (The Journeys of the Soul): Appropriately titled, this is a soulful and adventurous song with incredible guitar work. There are many different sections that seemingly go through every different style of music Alcest are capable of, and almost could be a precursor to Kodama. The second half especially is glorious. |
| 14 | | Alcest
Écailles De Lune
Solar Song: A more straightforward shoegazing song that’s absolutely enchanting. There’s a real hypnotic quality to how it unfolds, and I just love that two note guitar chime that keeps repeating throughout. I would say this is a great candidate for an introduction to the band, for non-metal fans especially. This being my least favorite out of the five on Écailles de Lune goes to show how amazing that album is. |
| 13 | | Alcest
Souvenirs D'Un Autre Monde
Les Iris (The Irises): This sounds the most like what they would do going forward out of the whole Souvenirs debut album, especially the intro. The centerpiece for me, being the longest, most ambitious, and sounds like their most complex song up to this point. With a wall-of-sound quality to it, great acoustic guitar in the second half, and a soaring climax, this is one perfect example of the Alcest identity encapsulated. |
| 12 | | Alcest
Les Voyages De L'Âme
Faiseurs de mondes (Makers of Worlds): Achieves a great balance of moods throughout, being especially well written which is saying a lot. One of their only songs with blast beats and tremolo picking, but in a more triumphant way. This song is a real blast to listen to, and in my opinion has a lot of the strengths of Ecailles de Lune. |
| 11 | | Alcest
Kodama
Kodama (Tree Spirit / Echo): The opener of their second best album is a work of art. It reassured fans that Shelter was a one-off, and they were back to making the masterful blackgaze music they’re known for. A genre-bending, otherworldly epic with a progressive nature. You can hear how inspired Neige was on this whole album, with this acting as a wonderful introduction. Even for them this has such an incredible atmosphere and interesting guitar effects. There’s a few seconds of this song I heard as an NPR transition a few times, no joke. |
| 10 | | Alcest
Les Voyages De L'Âme
Autre temps (Another Time): The most popular Alcest song is also one of their best. I would choose this (and Solar Song as mentioned earlier) as a good starter for anyone looking to get into Alcest, especially if they’re a normie or aren’t into metal music. Neige proves he can write a simpler song with an almost poppy structure long before the Shelter or Spiritual Instinct singles. The chorus is an earworm in the best way, and there’s deceptively effective chord progressions going on as well if you pay attention closely. This is how it’s done. |
| 9 | | Alcest
Kodama
Je suis d’ailleurs (I Am from Elsewhere): Another high quality epic from Kodama with plenty of variety and emphasizing stunning walls of sound throughout. The shimmery guitar solo at around the 5-minute mark is an album, and band, highlight for me. This is a perfect example of Neige’s songwriting talents all in one song. This is like their Drapery Falls, and I think Opeth fans will get it, as the two songs share a similar structure, especially with the intro and outro. |
| 8 | | Alcest
Shelter
Into the Waves: Shame that this is a bonus track because this is just an incredible epic dream pop song with soaring female vocals. Listening is pure bliss every time, a total earworm and without a doubt one of the best things Neige has made. The drumming is also central to the energy it exudes, along with everything else. Listening to this song is honestly transcendent every time for me. |
| 7 | | Alcest
Souvenirs D'Un Autre Monde
Souvenirs d’un autre monde (Memories from Another World): Another comforting one that exemplifies all the best qualities of early Alcest, and easily the band’s best pre-Écailles song. I miss the acoustic guitar and love how it juxtaposed with the heavier sections and shoegaze parts. The standout here is the lead guitar though, especially the absolutely stunning section that thankfully lasts a whole minute, beginning at the 4:00 minute mark, with layered female vocals as well. If Neige wanted this album to be the aural gateway into his state of mind and experience from childhood being at that other place, this achieves that perfectly. |
| 6 | | Alcest
Écailles De Lune
Percées de lumière (Breakthroughs of Light): A more metallic song that is probably their quintessential shorter one, beginning with all manner of riffing and fantastic bass lines. It then transitions to a fantastic trance-inducing bridge section. The track keeps evolving from there, ending on that great intro riff. Not much to say about it other than a classic Alcest song that showcases their metal edge in a pretty much perfect way. |
| 5 | | Alcest
Kodama
Eclosion (Hatching): A heavenly intro and verse section is a highlight of my favorite that Kodama has to offer. Every part of Eclosion is tremendous, but that part in particular is just unreal. There’s a real sense of hope to this one, very optimistic while indulging in the heavier sound that Kodama has. The positivity and passion that Alcest are capable of in songs like Eclosion is one reason I love this band. The closing two minutes of light guitar melodies is the icing on the cake, adding color to what came before. |
| 4 | | Alcest
Écailles De Lune
Écailles de lune (Moon Scales) – Part 2: One of their most complex and well balanced songs. This follows Part 1 with a heavier tone, but first comes a 45 second intro of sheer beauty, a band highlight. Then comes some of the best metal music they ever recorded, with a particularly fantastic lead guitar at the 3:30 minute mark. The song keeps changing and surprising you as it goes, with one enchanting musical passage after another. That outro is so powerful as well, almost like a mantra. No doubt that this lives up to and continues the sheer perfection of Part 1. |
| 3 | | Alcest
Les Voyages De L'Âme
Là où naissent les couleurs nouvelles (Where the New Colors Are Born): It could be said that everything Alcest does best is contained in this song. Heavenly guitars are the centerpiece for a while, and then a truly otherworldy bridge section with blasting drums and tremolo picking guitar that resembles Écailles de Lune makes for stunning results. Then the clean guitar melody at the 5-minute mark takes it to another level, and it builds to a subtle climax to end the song. Total masterpiece. |
| 2 | | Alcest
Écailles De Lune
Sur l’océan couleur de fer (On the Iron-Colored Ocean): A serene, breathtaking epic that relies solely on reverbed, gentle guitars, vocals, and some subtly swelling synths toward the end. This is a real testament to Neige’s songwriting talents that he was able to create such an amazing piece without any metal or even rhythm section to speak of. An awe-inspiring album closer where everything is as it should be with guitar melodies from out of this world. |
| 1 | | Alcest
Écailles De Lune
Écailles de lune (Moon Scales) – Part 1: This is the one, the greatest song by Alcest and the crowning achievement of blackgaze, or whatever you want to label this style of music. The aquatic vibe is wonderfully displayed on the whole album, especially on this and the closer. Neige captured a special kind of magic on Moon Scales – Part 1, managing to layer guitar melodies into unbelievably gorgeous and surreal musical passages that carry an air of nostalgia for that other place. Neige’s singing voice and the synths add further depth as well, making for an engrossing masterpiece that’s equivalent to aural ecstasy. |
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