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Alcest - Kodama



8.4 | 375 votes |
Release date: 30 September 2016
Style: Shoegaze, Atmospheric black metal

Owners:

270 have it
48 want it
1 trades it


01. Kodama
02. Eclosion
03. Je Suis D'ailleurs
04. Untouched
05. Oiseaux De Proie
06. Onyx
07. Notre Sang Et Nos Penseées [bonus]

The Best Metalgaze Album Of 2016
Top 20 albums of 2016: 13

Additional info
Artwork by the French duo Førtifem.
Kodama is the Japanese word for both "tree spirit" and "echo".

Staff review by
corrupt
Rating:
7.6
Right in the middle between Shelter and Les Voyages de L'âme - that's where Kodama puts itself. That should be what most people will come here to find out, so I'll say it right away. After Shelter's, let's say, mediocre reception - making a sharp turn to the dreampop-realm of shoegaze, devoid of almost all black metal influences, the one thing we fans have been asking ourselves is: was Shelter a one-off or is Neige going full-on Opeth on us? I can tell you, both happily and sadly to a certain degree, it is neither.

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published 30.09.2016 | Comments (11)

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Comments

Comments: 26   [ 1 ignored ]   Visited by: 933 users
26.07.2016 - 18:36
Rating: 6
Karlabos
That could be good. But that also could not
Let's wait and see, I guess
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"Aah! The cat turned into a cat!"
- Reimu Hakurei
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28.07.2016 - 19:16
Flyingbroom
Yay, can't wait!
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04.08.2016 - 23:00
Maco
Pvt Funderground
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Crackhead Megadeth reigns supreme.
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04.08.2016 - 23:24
Rating: 8
Unhealer
Eclecticist
Wow, sounds great. And blastbeat and screams are back? I thought Neige had mentioned Voyages would be their last album with screams.
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04.08.2016 - 23:36
LuciferOfGayness
Account deleted
Written by Unhealer on 04.08.2016 at 23:24

Wow, sounds great. And blastbeat and screams are back? I thought Neige had mentioned Voyages would be their last album with screams.

Theres lots of albums with blastbeats and screams that executes those things better than here. My guess is that fans of this isnt here for the blastbeats and screams.
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01.09.2016 - 09:53
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted
Written by [user id=157444] on 04.08.2016 at 23:36


Theres lots of albums with blastbeats and screams that executes those things better than here. My guess is that fans of this isnt here for the blastbeats and screams.

Lol. Most of the comments I've seen regarding this album have been those praising the return of the screams.
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18.09.2016 - 17:39
Rating: 7
Paz
777
Elite
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Album Release day (September 30, 2016)
30.09.2016 - 13:41
Rating: 6
God Alone
Apart from an earthier sound, this is pretty average, by the numbers Alcest.
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30.09.2016 - 23:35
Rating: 7
Paz
777
Elite
I'm liking this a lot. Much, much better than the previous two. And it's not just a matter of Neige's sreaming vocals - the music is simply more interesting here. Also, 42 minutes is a perfect timing for this type of music.
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01.10.2016 - 02:25
Rating: 9
tea[m]ster
Au Pays Natal
Contributor
This is fantastic. It seems to be a combination of Ecailles De Lune and the direction on his last couple of albums. The production is flawless. Possible AOTY candidate.
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rekt
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01.10.2016 - 08:27
satthia
Not better than Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde or Écailles de Lune but a lot better than Les Voyages De L'âme and Shelter. Great production too.
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02.10.2016 - 20:07
Rating: 8
Netzach
Planewalker
Alcest surprised me here. After two "meh" albums they finally made something as good as Ecailles. Great stuff.

edit: Lowered from 9 to 8 as some tracks simply do not hold up to repeated listens. Kodama, D'ailleus and Oiseaux are all top notch though.
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My "blackened synth metal" solo project: maladomini.bandcamp.com.

Whenever I write something funny, weird, or pretentious... I learned English by playing Baldur's Gate, okay?
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04.10.2016 - 02:55
Rating: 7
Reaper_Redeemer
Way better than Shelter. A successful change of focus to shoegaze, while Écailles De Lune and Les Voyages De L'âme still remain by far his best albums for me.

Here, I liked:
01. Kodama
03. Je Suis D'ailleurs
05. Oiseaux De Proie
06. Onyx
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04.10.2016 - 10:08
Rating: 10
Excellent album for me. Not at par with Ecailes De Lune. But certainly at par or maybe a bit better than Souvenirs
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07.10.2016 - 18:21
Rating: 8
Sword_Chant
About as good as the last album was to be honest, although the direction of this one is a little different, i'm digging the harsh vocals. I would give both this and Shelter about an 8/10.
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18.10.2016 - 20:26
Rating: 9
Zyk
This album was a step back into the more familiar Alcest sound after the somewhat lackluster Shelter album. It's sort of a nice blend of both sounds though as well as being different in a couple ways fundamentally. First there are much less vocals overall, instead having a majority of instrumental sections, and second there are much less effects used on the vocals and most of the instruments as well which gives the album an overall more organic sound. I found Kodama to be missing something every time I listened through it however because by the end I was always getting into it right when it was over and it felt like it needed at least one more song in it. Because of this I bothered to acquire and add the bonus song to it and, while being only instrumental, I think it provides a more complete feeling to the album especially if you make your own order to listen to the songs in. There wasn't anything that really stood out about this album other than it was simply enjoyable throughout in the good old Alcest way. If you want more decent/good Alcest, this is it but don't expect anything groundbreaking.
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03.11.2016 - 00:01
Rating: 9
tea[m]ster
Au Pays Natal
Contributor
Well goddam, is this flying under the radar? People that have given up on him need to check this out ASAP.
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rekt
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03.11.2016 - 00:47
Rating: 8
Diverge
Written by tea[m]ster on 03.11.2016 at 00:01

Well goddam, is this flying under the radar? People that have given up on him need to check this out ASAP.

Thanks for the reminder that this exists.
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03.11.2016 - 03:10
Ichinose
Account deleted
My favorite Alcest album.
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03.11.2016 - 03:19
Rating: 8
Unhealer
Eclecticist
I'm glad they didn't follow the direction of Shelter, and rather incorporated that experience into the sound they developed on previous records. Opeth should take note of that.
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03.11.2016 - 07:36
Rating: 8
X-Ray Rod
Skandino
Staff
Written by Unhealer on 03.11.2016 at 03:19
Opeth should take note of that.

This... So much this.
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29
Like you could kiss my ass

Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
Rod, let me love you.

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22.11.2016 - 06:28
Maco
Pvt Funderground
Surprisingly this is very good.
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Crackhead Megadeth reigns supreme.
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23.12.2016 - 17:06
Rating: 8
Diverge
I was pleasantly surprised with this album as well.
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17.11.2017 - 15:36
Rating: 8
(o> . <o> )
What can I say, the music will speak for itself. A truly well crafted release filled with emotion.
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17.11.2017 - 21:28
Rating: 9
tea[m]ster
Au Pays Natal
Contributor
Best drum sound I have ever heard.
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rekt
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17.12.2017 - 01:08
Rating: 9
phanto
I barely gave this a chance after Shelter which I thought sucked (but perhaps I should try to reevaluate that album as well).

I'm really liking this one. Definitely in the same league as the first three albums.
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