ALCEST

Release Year: 2019
Artist Origin: FRA
Style: melancholic post black metal / shoegaze

inner struggles, anxiety, anger, and search for harmony form the core of French duo's sixth album, with the sphinx on cover symbolizing tension between earthly turmoil and spiritual transcendence, while heavier guitar riffs, powerful drums, and contrast between gentle vocal melodies and furious outbursts of screams reveal a darker, more emotionally candid side of their framework, as Neige transforms his personal exhaustion after extensive touring into a cathartic musical purging and an attempt to reconnect with his inner self, preserving recognizable blackgaze aesthetic while enriching captivating sound with rougher energy and genuine vulnerability, making these six compositions not only heavier but also distinctly personal chapter in their journey, where beauty and aggression merge into a cohesive, restless emotional voyage; German first press black vinyl edition comes with a pro-printed lyric insert