Very excited for this, it's been a long wait. Comments from Neige in interviews thus far indicate it is going to be a small return to the sound of the first two albums, but
also with a lot of guest musicians, varied sounds and instruments and a soundtrack like feeling.

I think we may be hearing the first single very soon!

awesome, looking forward to it. If it´s even half as good as Écailles de lune it´s going straight into my top 10 for the year

Very good news!

Spiritual Instinct was one of my fav albums of 2019, can't wait for this!

Beautiful artwork. I only listened to Spiritual Instinct once, but enjoyed it when I did - hope one of these "big announcements" they have in store tomorrow is a North American tour! I haven't seen Alcest since they toured for Kodama back in 2017, and it was absolutely magical

will be looking forward to this
the art is Good, better than the last two cover pieces

Cover art is great, loved Spiritual Instinct so I'm excited to hear this new one. I'm not a huge post-black/blackgaze fan, but something about Alcest just really does it for me.

first track

so they didn't lie when they said it would be a return to their early stuff in a way. Some heavy Souvenirs vibes in this one. Loving what I hear so far

Loved the last one and Kodama, so definitely looking forward to this

Really love the new single, it definitely does feel like a return of sorts to the mystical and uplifting quality of their earlier works, possibly with some ambient touches from Shelter here and there too.

They have just released an animated music video for the single too:

I love the new single, and I loved Spiritual Instinct. Prior to SI, I had a falling off with Alcest. I didn't hate Kodama or Shelter, but I didn't love them either and didn't really dig into these records. However, with this new single, I'm excited again for a new Alcest album, even if it feels less metal, and more post-rocky/shoegazy.

Good stuff! Can't wait for June!

Wow, that was fucking great. Definitely some strong Souvenirs vibes, but harder hitting which is a checkmark for me. I don't hate that record, nor do I hate Shelter because both of them have some amazing moments, but as a whole they were a little too dainty for my taste - kind of like if you eat a dessert that's good, but a little TOO sweet. It reminds me of a similar level of intensity to Kodama, minus the oriental flair, and I loved that record.

Also glad that Neige isn't afraid to scream here, despite it being overall a little softer. His shrieks are amazing and I reeeeally missed them on Souvenirs and Shelter (for the record, I got into Ecailles de Lune first).

Overall loving this and really looking forward to the full album! I'll have to brush up on Spiritual Instinct in the meantime

I find Niege is good about giving each album its own character and look forward to this just like the rest. Ecailles still stands as one of my favorite albums ever.

First single is gorgeous. Haven't felt such excitement for an Alcest song in a very long time, even though Kodama and Spiritual Instinct were no slouches.

I find the drums a bit too loud. A slightly more muted sound might be better; at least from my point of view.

Second single out now - very reminiscent of Shelter to me but also sounds fresh too. How much you like it will probably depend on what kind of Alcest fan you are, because this is very bright and melodic with only the faintest traces of darkness to be found.

Cool music, but never understood why this band is considered metal, they sound like a shoegaze/indie rock band.

Love the new single. Not as much as L'Envol, but still. I'm loving the new material for sure, and I have great hopes for the LP.



Spin their first demo, Tristesse hivernale. It was full on black metal.

The following EP, Le secret, and their debut Souvenirs d'un autre monde, were part of the genesis of what we now refer to as "blackgaze", it's definitely more of the post-black metal side of the equation, for sure, but the black metal riffing and vocals are very much present in these two albums, and at the very core of the band's sound.

Following that, the band explored more avenues, and some of the songs on following releases a full-pledged post-rock, shoegaze and whatnot, bearing very little black metal elements, but to say that these guys have no black metal in their sound anymore would also be wrong. Go spin the album Spiritual Instinct for an album that's very much Alcest, but more on the black (or post-black) metal side, compared to say Shelter, which saw the band pushing in the post-rock direction more.