Style: Black metal, blackgaze, post-black metal, atmospheric black metal
Primary Emotions: Spirituality, ethereal, feelings of things greater than oneself, the harshness of nature
Thoughts: Alcest has a spotty history with me. They are at their best when they are closer to black metal than not. I find the pure shoegaze albums like Shelter are not to my liking. Something about the overly happy tones without any sort of harshness to balance it out doesn't do much for me.
Spiritual Instinct though is atmospheric black metal at it's best. Light airy vocals that soar above the major key chords and blast beats. There aren't many bands out there that play in this style, and Alcest are my favorite in this field. Where the band really shines though is when the harsh vocals enter the music.
Neige's harsh vocals are some of my favorite in all of black metal... actually in all of metal. They have such a cruel and biting tone to them. It is in stark contrast to the beautiful melodies and atmospheres put out by the instruments. The contrast and balance between those two is incredible on this album.
This is the real draw of Alcest. The beauty of the music mixed with the merciless tone of the vocals is uniquely Alcest. No other band matches this intensity and contrast. The music washes over me like a warm blanket and the vocals crash against me like a cold wind. They work against each other yet are still in perfect equilibrium. This paradox is the wonder that is Alcest.
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