Review Summary: Neige is a creative genius and propels his one man projects latest effort to stunning brilliance.
Envision yourself sitting by a brook of cold water bubbling over the rocks, falling leaves swirling in the air around you. The peace and quiet are at stark contrast with the activity of animals preparing for winter. The sun will be down soon and who knows what the night shall bring. The season of death is here. Fall has arrived in all it's sorrow and splendor. So has the record which will perfectly complement all of these facts.
Equal parts black metal, post-rock and ambient,
Ecailles De Lune is crafted with beautiful soothing vocals, tortured shrieks, clean riffs drenched in melancholy reverb and, of course signature frantic black metal drums. My friends, more beautiful music would be hard to find. That's what makes Alcest such an intriguing musical endeavour. It is beautiful. It is definately heavy and aggressive but is also incredibly emotional and infused with beauty.
Several things contribute to the overall excellence of this record and differentiate Ecailles De Lune from most black metal. One such fact is you can hear the bass, all of the time. Every song is laced with basslines that deviate from the guitars. The cleans are so gorgeous you have to wonder why Neige didn't choose to use them exclusively. The clean riffs and picked notes are soothing, peaceful and invoke imagination. Although I do not personally understand French, this is of no importance. You do not need to understand French because the excelling quality of every song on the album outweighs this lack of comprehension.
The first two tracks,
Ecailles De Lune Part I and Part 11 are the best examples of this perfect fusion of black metal, post-rock/shoegaze and ambient styles. Solar song meanwhile has slow doom-like drums pounding throughout under distorted guitars and Neiges crooning vocals. Percees De Lumiere is slightly heavier, shrieks and screams permeate while the bass is almost higher in the mix than anything else. The drums keep a simple beat but about halfway through the song when they slow to half pace you can't help but nod your head. Abysses is the instrumental track on the album and helps add to that dreamesque atmoshere that Alcest are so good at creating. The final song
Sur LOcean Couleur De Fer is quite simply one of the most incredible songs I have ever heard. If you listen to one track from this album and no other, ensure it is this one. The acoustic guitars, eastern sounding vocal melodies and lead riffs create a sorrowful and melancholy atmosphere which is astoundingly powerful.
My friends, Imagine for yourselves the scenario I listed above and
Ecailles De Lune is a record you need to hear if you haven't already listened to it. It is the epitome of the perfect album to suit the seasons soundtrack.
