I honestly couldn't care less whether this is post black, shoegaze dreampop or hipster bubblegum bullshit. This is a great song by a wonderfully creative artist. I like that he's exploring new sounds, if you want black metal, why not just listen to some.
This is obviously something that will and already do divide fans of Alcest. Even though this is just one track of the entire album, the tone has been set. One must realize that music does not belong to its listeners, we are getting a glimpse into the artists mind and should be grateful of that. Disappointment and complaints are simply not justified, but nevertheless fully understandable. As an eclectic, this may be easier for me to address, but trying to embrace this new sound may prove valuable for some of you. It isn't even that much of a difference, just a more joyful tone. The bigger difference, I would dare to say, is the music video.
Amanda Archer I myself wonder if I should be the target of ridicule if I respond to this genuinely, or is it the cause of paranoia? Anyway, I have no idea about Audrey Sylvain, I guess you could always hope :) Him changing the atmosphere of the album might be due to his original intentions though. From what I can remember, he never wanted the overall feeling of his music to be that of the melancholic, twisted soul, but rather the voice of some celestial world with different chromatic perspectives, surrealistic and ethereal. I think this album might be Neige enforcing that belief, making people understand his intentions.
I personally don't complain when artist change to a different style (one that i like less), and in this case it's still good music, though a bit boring. So I aggree with you sir! :)
Well, this album officialy exited the metal realm. This is post-rock/shoegaze at its finest, but this track is damn boring. I'm sorry but Shelter is their weakest album up-to-date.
Guys, calm down. Almost every artist in the world wants to explore new things. I think, that he might someday return to his old style. Many of these hate comments seem like written by 15-years old "trve metalheads".
An easy-to-play guitar riff, but beautifully arranged every song, when combined with drums, bass, and vocals with the chorus of another guitarist. It's the ultimate art that can't be consumed every day. I'm a fan from Thailand.
This band and the guy behind it all.. Nothing but love since the 'Souvenirs' album. The music never gets old and always seems to get me in some kind of way. Seen live 4 times and soon will be 5th time during the tour with Mono. Will be magical.
simply a masterpiece of melody\tecnique\musical skill\armony....doesn't need to be put in any musical genre, as all the perfect songs don't need. it's rare and beatuful when it happens, but perfect songs are here in the air, and it's up to the musician to be able to catch it...
This album Shelter has become the most singularly treasured Alcest album to me. It's not like it's my favourite Alcest album per se; it's just such an important element of Alcest's sound that isn't explored much on other releases, which makes it uniquely important. I play this album every time I'm lucky enough to find myself alone on a beach at night.
Es increíble cómo, aun en la música, estamos mediatizados por estándares. ¿Qué esta vida no está llena de cambios constantes? Y en nuestras creaciones se manifiestan esos cambios, al fin y al cabo son extensiones propias. Que si eran "x", que si eran "y". ¿A quién le importa el género, subgénero o esa mierda? La música es música. Bravo, Alcest por arriesgarse a hacer lo que quieren incluso en una sociedad así de cerrada y con el pensamiento más lineal que un escalímetro.
I thought I would have missed the good old blackgaze days, but this song blew away any trace of doubts about Alcest future that was growing on me. It is a shining future, not only for the dreamy atmosphere but also on a quality level.
Wow. Heard this and immediately fell in love It's amazing how these guys have developed a more and more defined and unique sound through each album. I can feel Neige's vision more and more. This band isn't about being black metal, or shoegaze, I think it's about something much deeper, and I think people that realize this can connect with it. As much as I love metal, I would never even consider this to be in that genre and I actually find it has more potential because they have broken the boundaries. Can't wait for this album.
Alcest, siempre con su toque atmosférico y nunca dejando el Shoegaze a un lado, y aún así inovando cada vez más. Me gusta este nuevo sencillo, es digno de escucharlo mas de una vez.
What are you all talking about? This song is pure Alcest to me. Neige's been working on this since Les Voyages de L'Ame and he's put a ton of effort in it. The music video is awesomeness, to say the least! For a more old-school sounding of them, I'm sure they've put a bunch of songs of this type on the album too.
Here it goes ... Alcest venturing into the mainstream/boring world of easy-to-make 4/4 rhythms and other boring factors in music. Damn I miss his old style work. He actually followed his own style and made his music interesting.
SwaffyX This IS his style, which is why he wrote it. Don't assume you know everything about an artist and their preferences after hearing a couple of albums. He absolutely loves what he has written for this album, and rightfully so. Alcest was meant to be beautiful and uplifting, and that can be expressed in so many ways. This album is calming, soothing, happy, ethereal and no less 'Alcest' than any of the previous albums. It's just a different way of him presenting it.
It's weird how so many people are saying negative things about this. Their previous black metal influenced sound was great but I am in awe of their new shoegaze-y sound. It's like Slowdive but ten times better and more atmospheric. I honestly think this is going to be one of my favorite albums of all time. January 1st. needs to get here quicker
Fun facts: The girl from this video got a sun burn from recording this. Also she injured her foot by stepping on a barnacle. The models for the video were chosen because of how androgynous they look. There are a couple other fun facts told me by the female model a long time ago but I can't remember them XD
"how androgynous they look" apparently you're ignorant of what the word "androgynous" means, and decided to skip it and just read "how (...) they look"
Pra quem fala português: no refrão, parece que o Neige tá cantando "aaahh, devo amaaaar, aaah, meu amoooor..." Mesmo em cognatos, Alcest é de uma sensibilidade fora do comum. Melhor banda da atualidade ♡
Funny how I didn't like, couldn't even get used to this album; but he has a spirituality, a depth that touches him deeply. I always get emotional with him and on every track. More beautiful songs.
Every artist wants to try new things...one of the biggest example of this is "Scott Conner" of Xasthur. Now he has completely changed his style from DSBM to Acoustic. He now play under the name of "Nocturnal Poisoning"
Scott plays acoustic music in Nocturnal Poisoning, but not in Xasthur. And he doesn't play post-rock. It isn't necessary to compare absolutely different styles.
Umbra Morta you missed the point of Rohid here. He used Scott Connor's morphism in styles to make an example that artists sometimes change completelly their sound, in order to show that Alcest hasn't made such a huge change like people are arguing about. Well, if the band name is the issue, we could speak of Ulver, or Paradise Lost, or Anathema. Artists change all the time, and Alcest has been changing through the years, if people haven't noticed. This album, for me, has a more similar feel to Souvenirs, so he didn't change that much.
As much as I loved the blasting blackened moments of previous Alcest albums... Its the moments where the more melodic and atmospheric moments swelled that always got me... Like on "Les Voyages De L'Âme" from 4:46 and on always makes me feel so damn good... Looking forward to this with MUCH anticipation...
@Bow Legged he was never really into the neo nazis shit of the band, he said himself that he was young at the time and just wanted to play as a session musician. He's far from these ideologies now and grew as a person, that's enough to me imo.
@Frank Rizzo Im not making this up ahah Famine said it himself. And even if it was 2008 it's still 12 years ago. Bottom line he's a far cry from the all the KNP retards, it has nothing to do with righteousness, I just think that it's too bad that people are lumping them together.
Not ashamed to call myself a black metal fan. Songs like these show how black metal IS the defining genre in music, adding a layer of emotion to an already diverse style of music. Another such track is Dead Mountain, by Dekadent.
Alcest é simplesmente incrível, os vocais, instrumental, a criatividade e beleza dos vídeos e capas, é algo muito bonito mesmo, faz se sentir bem ouvindo, lembrar de bons momentos, muito satisfatório
This is ONE song from the entire album. There's a lot more to come and we don't know exactly how it'll sound. Besides, Alcest's not been doing a whole lot of blastbeats and screaming lately, every album has been different in one way or the other. I look forward to the next one and hope it's as good. They've all grown on me so far.
I know this is a good band when it comes from a form of music that is dying and change it's style (or accommodates it) to produce a more original sound worth listening, i bet my hat this is the best thing they ever released.
It seems like it's Alcest's turn be shunned by a lot of their fan base. Same happened to Opeth and Katatonia among many other artists. Were you not expecting for the sound to change? This is still beauty in its purest form
I personally prefer the older style, but honestly I think "Les Voyages de l'Âme" was perfect and there was nothing that could have been done better so I guess it was the closing of that chapter. So I'm glad Neige changed, because this is really beautiful, and even though the style is different you can still clearly feel that essence so unique from Alcest. Can't wait to listen to the whole album.
![Alcest - Opale [official music video]](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
