Ok so I know it's been a while since my last post and I'm sorry. I've just been really freakin busy with school, work, home, and other junk that just is not letting think enough to do a post. Yeah these posts aren't easy. Not for me anyways. So I have been thinking about what album to do a review of next. So far this year I've gotten some great releases and are really digging a hand full of them. It was a toss up between Les Discrets, and Alcest. Even though they are very comparable I couldn't decide. So I basically went and let ITunes decide for me. I just looked and saw which album had the most plays and it was Alcest. Doesn't mean the Les Discrets is any less of a master piece. It just means that Alcest will come first. So here it goes
Alcest in case you guys don't know are a shoe gaze, black metal band from France. I won't get into a full history of these guys but it is some of the best sonic bliss I have ever heard. I got into the in 2010 when they released the master piece Escailles De Lune. Which was amazing and I highly recommend checking that one out if you haven't already. So Alcest mainly consists of two artists. Neige who does all the vocals, guitars, bass and synths. And Winterhalter one drums. They have progressively moved away from the black metal influences and focused more on the sound scapes and energy flow through out the records. I really didn't think that anything was going to be better than Escailles De Lune but boy was I wrong. These guys really put a top notch record this year.
Everything from the guitar tones, the vocals, bass work, and the thick drumming is just wonderful. I really enjoy listening to this record when I want to sit down and escape the world for a while. Or when I'm cleaning the house, or sleeping. I could really listen to this stuff any time of the day but there's just something about having the lights down low and drifting away to some Alcest. This record builds and releases its sounds many times through out the record. Which is great. Like the opening track starts off real and mellow and then just thrusts forward with a real thick distortion, and an entrancing sound that will wake up every bone in your body. The vocals have a way of sucking you in and bringing you future into the music. Even though I can't understand a single word he says because he speaks in French. But hey that's ok by me. Just goes to show that the music is more moving than the words in the case for me. Now I'm sure these guys would blow my mind in seconds if I knew what they were saying but that's me being a dumb American that can only speak English, and can bairly speak that as it is. So maybe it's a good thing that I can't understand them.
So if you like lush distortion, with great production, and a real passionate vocal approach Alcest is your monster. These guys really know how to craft something special every time they release something, and I for one am very pleased with this release. This release will definitely be in my top 20 if not in the top 10 at the end the year. So trust me when I say this is worth the money so go out and get it today. Get the vinyl edition the art is great. So if I had to give this record a score it would be a solid 8.5 to light 9. It will probably become a 9 by the end of the year for sure but for right now it's a solid 8'5. So I will probably do Les Discrets next after doing Alcest. It's only fair being they are really close, but yet so far apart in comparison. Sorry this one is so short I just don't have a lot of brain power left after school. I mean learning about Allen & Heath sound boards, and other boards for 4 hours can really take a toll. So until next time stay hard, stay heavy.
0 comments:
Post a Comment