Alcest – Les Voyages de L’Âme
Posted on 12th Jan 12 by Jonathan Keane | 
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“…The album’s ability to harness both moments of dense atmospherics with that of the serene and airy is by far Les Voyages de L’Âme’s defining and most enthralling quality…”
When something is truly beautiful, it’s quite a difficult task to articulate it, to lucidly convey the emotions that it emits so that those reading the words can grasp exactly how affecting that something is. The something right now is Alcest’s third album Les Voyages de L’Âme. Bearer of the Alcest reins and control of the band, Neige, certainly has not been an obscure character lately, spending years crafting some of the most breath-taking and entrancing music. Rooted in black metal, Alcest has over the course of two predecessor records evolved more and more into the shoegaze/black metal hybrid, a style that they’re most credited with helming.
Les Voyages de L’Âme takes off where Écailles de Lune left out, further examining the melodious elements of Alcest. This record sees the band step even further away from any coarse screeched vocals that characterised their black metal edge and the very sporadic harsh vocals suggest that Alcest releases in the future will be void of them. It all works splendidly though from the gorgeous openings of Autre Temps with its calm amble through delicate aural terrains, while the title track draws you into a warm, alluring and tranquil world.
Neige has allowed myriad influences to seep into his art on Les Voyages de L’Âme as both the brooding and ebullient hints of post rock drench the aura meanwhile elements of folk come peppered throughout. It would be unfair to say Neige has abandoned any metal sensibilities on this record though, and while it may be a stretch to even call it a metal effort, the searing vocals found on Là Où Naissent Les Couleurs Nouvelles argue otherwise.
Faiseurs De Mondes is possibly one of the finest songs that has ever carried the Alcest name. Breathlessly, it scales to invigorating climes that conjure up images of cold dark and misty forests only for the sun to finally rise, alighting an escape route. The album’s ability to harness both moments of dense atmospherics with that of the serene and airy is by far Les Voyages de L’Âme’s defining and most enthralling quality, something that draws you back in over and over again – most definitely, this album is the glimmering crown jewel in Alcest’s vault.
Drop-d Rating: 8.5/10
Tags: Alcest, black metal, Ecailles De Lune, Les Voyages de L'ame, Neige, shoegaze