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Alcest - Les Voyages De L'âme



8.2 | 574 votes |
Release date: 6 January 2012
Style: Shoegaze , Atmospheric black metal

Owners:

463 have it
52 want it


01. Autre Temps
02. Là Où Naissent Les Couleurs Nouvelles
03. Les Voyages De L'âme
04. Nous Sommes L'emeraude
05. Beings Of Light
06. Faiseurs De Mondes
07. Havens
08. Summer's Glory

The best Melodic Black Metal / Metalgaze album of 2012

Line-up
Jean "Winterhalter" Deflandre - drums
Stéphane "Neige" Paut - vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards

Additional info
Les Voyages De L'âme (The Journeys Of The Soul) release dates:
- Germany/Austria: January 6, 2012
- Europe: January 9, 2012
- North America: January 31, 2012
- World: January 9, 2012

Formats:
- CD
- Digipak CD
- Limited art book-CD/DVD
- Limited gatefold LP with alternative cover artwork and in two different colours (black and white)

Recorded by Markus Stock at Klangschmiede Studio E.
Mixed and mastered by Neb Xort at Drudenhaus Studio.

Cover art by Fursy Teyssier.
Design by Valnoir for Metastazis.

Produced by MK for Prophecy Productions.

Staff review by
Troy Killjoy
Rating:
7.5
Over the course of the past few years, Neige has been not-so-quietly making a name for himself in the black metal scene, working his way through the likes of Mortifera and Peste Noire before contributing to - perhaps - his first real "experiment": Amesoeurs. An experiment that ended in name only...

Read more ››
published 05.01.2012 | Comments (96)

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Comments page 4 / 4

Comments: 119   Visited by: 1291 users
20.01.2012 - 03:33
pisymbol

Alcest is touring the US in March. Can't wait.
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22.01.2012 - 08:38
Void Eater
Account deleted
Written by pisymbol on 20.01.2012 at 03:33

Alcest is touring the US in March. Can't wait.

Expecting some advanced level moshing. Might bring elbow pads and knee pads just in case.
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22.01.2012 - 11:27
Rating: 7
R'Vannith
ghedengi
Written by Guest on 22.01.2012 at 08:38

Written by pisymbol on 20.01.2012 at 03:33

Alcest is touring the US in March. Can't wait.

Expecting some advanced level moshing. Might bring elbow pads and knee pads just in case.

They don't call it shoegaze for nothing, mind your toes.
Seriously though this kind of music would be a fairly unique experience live.
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22.01.2012 - 15:43
pisymbol

Written by R'Vannith on 22.01.2012 at 11:27

Written by Guest on 22.01.2012 at 08:38

Written by pisymbol on 20.01.2012 at 03:33

Alcest is touring the US in March. Can't wait.

Expecting some advanced level moshing. Might bring elbow pads and knee pads just in case.

They don't call it shoegaze for nothing, mind your toes.
Seriously though this kind of music would be a fairly unique experience live.


Now I was told by someone who went to the Enslaved 20th anniversary show where Alcest apparently opened (that's what she told me) that the show itself is quite good.

Though it was a bit strange since the his set was played in complete darkness (or very little stage light). Can anyone else verify?
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13.02.2012 - 01:48
Rating: 6
Unhealer
Eclecticist
Its still not clicking...

Autre Temps is a marvelous song though. I listen to it everytime I want to get those "tickles".
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29.02.2012 - 23:41
Rating: 9
Reaper_Redeemer

That was an excellent album too. I do not understand what some people dislike here... The point was to touch, the point was to make a click to the listener. For me he made it... Half of the tracks was exceptionally good and the rest of the album keeped a good atmosphere. In some moments I felt that.. huh... that was.. foreign to this world...
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19.03.2012 - 12:21
Rating: 7
Draugen

I feel like this album is a step back compared to Écailles de Lune. What I especially liked about that one was the divided structure with both the softer and the harsher side of Alcest getting incorporated in a nice way. With Les Voyages de l'âme however it is almost exclusively the delicate, dreamy side of the band that gets presented. Don't get me wrong though, it is nothing wrong with that per se, but the thing that bothers me is the fact that it just does not feel either fresh or memorable enough.

I really hope that Niege has the courage and will to do some more major changes to the sound next time around. As it is now, I will most likely get the most out of it as relaxing background music.
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12.04.2012 - 18:16
Rating: 9
Dàibh

Save for three tracks I have not heard from the album, based on those I have heard several times now I'd rate the album '7 - Good.'

I endeavor however to hear the full LP as soon as possible...
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21.04.2012 - 00:23
Rating: 9
Dàibh

Written by Dàibh on 12.04.2012 at 18:16

Save for three tracks I have not heard from the album, based on those I have heard several times now I'd rate the album '7 - Good.'

I endeavor however to hear the full LP as soon as possible...


I've now heard the release in it's entirety and have bumped my rating up to a '9 - Excellent'.
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18.05.2012 - 06:21
Rating: 9
tea[m]ster
Au Pays Natal
Ok. Finally listened to this. I waited so long because I read that this is nothing more than "Écailles De Lune" all over again and I needed to cleanse my palate of all Alcest-related things. I would say yes and no. Yes because we are getting accustomed and take for granted what Alcest/Neige "sound" like. This is exactly what I expected. Nothing changed. But that is not a bad thing sometimes. No because clearly the production on this is waaay better than any of the their previous works. It sounds like a major record label's HUGE project. Just terrific. I need to listen a few more times before I rate.
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rekt
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19.05.2012 - 23:14
Rating: 7
EdguyAsFuck

I loved Ecailles de Lune, but this one sort of grows stale by the 4th song or so. The poppy shoegaze elements get kind of nauseating at times. It's kind of like pouring far too much brown sugar into your oatmeal or something.
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15.06.2012 - 22:00
Rating: 9
Boxcar Willy
yr a kook
I thought this was fantastic.
----
14:22 - Marcel Hubregtse
I do your mum

DESTROY DRUM TRIGGERS
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15.06.2012 - 22:05
Rating: 7
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Written by Boxcar Willy on 15.06.2012 at 22:00
I thought this was fantastic.

Not surprising considering your current love affair with Falloch.
----
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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15.06.2012 - 22:10
Rating: 9
tea[m]ster
Au Pays Natal
Written by Troy Killjoy on 15.06.2012 at 22:05

Written by Boxcar Willy on 15.06.2012 at 22:00
I thought this was fantastic.

Not surprising considering your current love affair with Falloch.


I like the Falloch debut, not surpising tho right Troy?
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rekt
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15.06.2012 - 22:14
Rating: 9
Boxcar Willy
yr a kook
Written by Troy Killjoy on 15.06.2012 at 22:05

Written by Boxcar Willy on 15.06.2012 at 22:00
I thought this was fantastic.

Not surprising considering your current love affair with Falloch.

It's the same as your love for Deafheaven


but, man I love that album.
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14:22 - Marcel Hubregtse
I do your mum

DESTROY DRUM TRIGGERS
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15.06.2012 - 22:18
Rating: 7
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Written by tea[m]ster on 15.06.2012 at 22:10
I like the Falloch debut, not surpising tho right Troy?

Not at all, and I wouldn't be surprised if you really enjoyed this album as well. Dream pop, shoegaze, post-rock, and just a dash of overly cheesy atmospheric black metal.
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"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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17.06.2012 - 21:21
Rating: 9
tea[m]ster
Au Pays Natal
Written by Troy Killjoy on 15.06.2012 at 22:18

Written by tea[m]ster on 15.06.2012 at 22:10
I like the Falloch debut, not surpising tho right Troy?

Not at all, and I wouldn't be surprised if you really enjoyed this album as well. Dream pop, shoegaze, post-rock, and just a dash of overly cheesy atmospheric black metal.


I've been spinning this one a lot, not sure if it's on par with Ecailles or not...
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rekt
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18.06.2012 - 01:51
Rating: 7
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Written by tea[m]ster on 17.06.2012 at 21:21
I've been spinning this one a lot, not sure if it's on par with Ecailles or not...

I think this pales in comparison personally - its overly fluffy atmosphere detracts from the songwriting, while the Lune's atmosphere is more supportive of Neige's creativity.
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"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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08.07.2012 - 16:14
Night Sight

It is very boring havent heard anything boring like this one form the band
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Alone in birth
Alone in the darkness
Alone in death
Alone in the daylight
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22.09.2012 - 23:39
ThunderAxe1989
Account deleted
Absolutely gorgeous!
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17.12.2012 - 02:35
Rating: 9
The release is incredible. I miss the harsh vocals though...
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17.12.2012 - 02:47
Rating: 7
R'Vannith
ghedengi
Nearly a year old now, still sounds very insubstantial to me. Great way to start your appreciation of that black metal aesthetic though, it's very easy listening.
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05.02.2013 - 01:21
Rating: 8
CobiWan1993
Secundum Filium
Very good stuff, one of the best from 2012 for me.
----
Ordinary men hate solitude. But the Master makes use of it, embracing his aloneness, realizing he is one with the whole universe (Lao Tzu).
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05.02.2013 - 06:25
Seita
Account deleted
One of the most over-hyped and overrated artists/albums I've ever heard. The melodies are very blasé and predictable and the whole thing just reeks of 90s alternative rock; seriously, how can people call this innovative? Shoegaze used to be huge - Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, Chapterhouse, Ride - although the fad died and it seems it's been resurrected through pseudo-black metal artists and, unfortunately, these guys can't come up with any original melodic sensibilities whatsoever, they just plagiarize it from artists who have already crashed and burned.
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03.04.2013 - 17:49
Rating: 8
NocturnalStalker
Metal Addict
Nice album but a bit too soothing for my taste. Even occasional harsh vocals don't change the atmosphere that slowly lulls you to sleep, which is... Not necessarily a bad thing but not something I looked for in this album.
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"And we are not who we think we are
We are who we're afraid to be"
- Lux Occulta "The Opening of Eleventh Sephirah"
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12.08.2013 - 06:21
Rating: 7
DoomRules

I don´t know, I think that this album is good , this work is the first alcest's album that i listened , but recently , i listened Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde and Écailles de lune, and definitely this album no have the true essence of the band that they transmited in the past works , the songs are simples and don´t have a good sequence that Écailles de lune ...I don´t know if this band is good or not ...:(
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There's no light at the end of the tunnel...
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14.08.2013 - 02:13
Rating: 7
Góral
Combo Breaker
Written by DoomRules on 12.08.2013 at 06:21

don´t know if this band is good or not ...:(

It's one of the questions which nobody can give you a definite answer. However, if anyone thinks that he can... fuck it, It's only your decision.
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24.05.2016 - 00:59
Rating: 9
Ganondox

This album is a classic.
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23.11.2017 - 19:03
MétalNoir
Fils du Lys
Here's my translation of the album's lyrics. For those of you who give a shit.

1. Other Time
A faraway prayer brought by the evening wind
Animates the leaves in their languid dance.
It is the chant of the old trees, intoned for thee,
For these dark woods now asleep.

Without waiting for us so many seasons have passed;
The golden leaves falling on the ground to die
Shall be reborn someday beneath a radiant sky,
But our eroded world will remain the same
And tomorrow thee and I will be gone.

2. Where the New Colors Are Born

I have always lived here yet
Like a wandering stranger
On this land, alone,
Perpetually detached,
I hear inside me the call of another universe
Resonating bitterly.

My eyes riveted to the sky,
Bearing the burden of my body,
I perceive my home
Lost in the clouds.
Too much heaviness here, too many stubborn arms
Holding back the wandering spirits
About to escape.
From here below I perceive my home,
Those eternal prairies
Lost in the clouds.
Where the new colors are born,
Where my heart and my soul remain.

3. The Voyages of the Soul

Tonight, doubtless, my soul,
Enslaved, worn down by low sorrow,
Will feel the urge to flee its prison of flesh.
Very far from us, from our time,
It will go to reach the stars.

They will tell it about its own existence
With pure and silent words,
They will show it the way
Leading to the unknown havens
That connect heaven and earth.

Those faraway lands,
Where tall grass in vermillion fields
Forever dance with light;
Where freely roam
All the memories of our lives on Earth.

Those faraway lands,
Where tall grass in red fields
Forever dances with light;
Where may freely roam
All the memories of our lives on Earth
Which vengeful time wanted to erase.

4. We Are the Emerald

Look deep inside us: we are the Emerald
Eternal, and leafy, and looking like a sea,
Where scents roam about throughout the warm night,
Where flows the current of the great angels of air.

We are the enormous murmuring forest,
Filled with dazzled shadow and dark splendor,
Breathing and alive, where a thousand birds of gold sing,
Its summit bursting into a foam of flowers.

Since the first breath and the first dawn,
With tireless effort and endless desire,
Together, we go up from the lairs of the earth,
Towards that wonderful goal that thou alone hast reached.

Together, us its voice, us its fathomless soul,
In this immense foliage, forever green again,
We have sheltered all the dreams of the world,
And it is in the Sun that we have grown.

6. Makers of Worlds

Thy ageless eyes
Are penetrating mirrors
That shape the world
With their reflections, and beautify it.
The wood's edge far off
Becomes a shifting, iridescent temple,
Celebrating the birth of Spring.

And those immense mountains,
Aspire to reach the heavens
Above us,
Whirling.

This reality that surrounds us,
Is the one that thou hast chosen
And thy dreams dress our sphere up
Into a perfect picture that unfurls
In the gleam of our gaze,
To the sound of your voice.

8. Summer's Glory

This morning I saw reappear
The immense Sun that feeds us.
July is coming at last
As is your smile.
We have been sleeping a whole year,
Now let us wake up.

Let us pick up the drunkenness
That floats on the summer breeze.
July is coming
Our heart thaws
I feel so light.

July is coming
Our heart thaws
I feel so light.
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Notre destinée n'est pas encore tracée....
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