Band:	Alcest
Album:	Écailles De Lune
Style:	Shoegaze, Atmospheric black metal
Release date:	March 29, 2010
Guest review by:	4look4rd

01. Écailles De Lune - Part 1
02. Écailles De Lune - Part 2
03. Percées De Lumière
04. Abysses
05. Solar Song
06. Sur L'océan Couleur De Fer

Imagine yourself lying on the bare ground of a desolated beach, gazing at the majesty of the full moon. Now close your eyes and focus on the sound of the nearby forest and sea. Wait for the high tide to wrap your body in a blanket of warmth and blissfulness. Listen to the call of the spirits of the night; follow them into the deep sea. Finally allow the hypnotic waters to consume your mortal life and embrace the splendor of Fairyland. This is the basic essence of Écailles de Lune.

Alcest is the brainchild of Neige, a French black metal musician famous for his collaborations with Peste Noir and Amesoeurs. The band's sound can be described as an exquisite cross between black metal and shoegazing, two rather obscure genres. This unique combination of styles creates an ethereal atmosphere that takes the listener from a state of complete relaxation to utter desolation.

Compared to their previous album, Souvenirs D'Un Autre Monde, Écailles de Lune is much darker and heavier. The acoustic guitars are replaced by heavily distorted electric guitars; clean and whispered vocals, although still present, lost some of their share to high pitched black metal shrieks. The lyrics on this album also tend to be on the darker side of the spectrum. Despite all of these deviations from the original formula, Alcest remains accessible to those outside of the metal scene because of its balance between aggressiveness and serenity.

Neige wrote, composed, and performed most of the lyrics, songs, and instruments found in Écailles de Lune. The lyrics were composed in French, but do not let this be a turn off if you do not understand the language; because in this type of music vocals are simply used as a complement to the atmosphere. With that being said, expect to hear beautiful female vocals, dreamy whispers, and haunting shrieks.

Haunted by the mirage of happier days
I wait for the echoes of the night
To be born on the open sea

This excerpt from the first part of the title song sets the melancholic, yet blissful, atmosphere of the entire album.

Neige once declared that Alcest is the embodiment of dreams he had when he was a child. He dreamed about Fairyland, a place with "colors, forms and sounds that do not exist here." The album allows the listener to get a glimpse of this world of fantasy. The mixture between the aggressive black metal and the ethereal shoegazing takes the listener in a journey through an array of emotions and to the depths of human imagination.