ALCEST — Écailles de lune (review)

ALCEST — Écailles de lune album cover Album · 2010 · Atmospheric Black Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
Vehemency
Personally, I think that Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde is one of the most beautiful albums ever released. The summer-like nostalgia was something beyond everything, so my expectations were really high when Écailles de lune was released. Luckily I didn’t have to disappoint, even if this new album doesn’t quite reach as far - of which I'm not entirely sure yet.

But how could it reach, and does it even need to? It’s better not to always compare a new work to an earlier one, especially in this case where Écailles de lune is both thematically and musically slightly (but just slightly) different. In a way, Écailles de lune is more aggressive in that it includes quite a lot of blast beats and back are also Neige’s harsh screams (which are, by the way, one of the best sounding ones in that area). That doesn’t, however, mean that Écailles de lune sounds downright angry, because from the inside Alcest sounds still as beautiful as in 2007. Not frost-bitten or enraged, just sweet drifting on a shore next to a deep blue sea at night. From this perspective I could say that Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde is a summer morning while Écailles de lune is the beginning night of that same day.

One thing that I am a bit disappointed with is the length. The third track ”Percées de Lumière” was released on a split a few months before this album, which means that in a way Écailles de lune provides only three new songs - if the two-part title-track is considered as one song and the short ambient humming of "Abysses" is excluded. Short running time is not a terrible thing and it’s always a bless that an album is not prolonged, but Écailles de lune does leave me a bit too hungry.

Anyhow, Écailles de lune provides an incredible journey from the furious speeds of ”Écailles de lune (Part II)” to the calm yet epic semi-acoustic album ending of ”Sur l'océan couleur de fer”. A funny thing is that I already know that this album will sound even better in a month or two when summer (again I seem to repeat that) kicks in. Only time will tell if Écailles de lune reaches the level of the debut full-length, but even if not, it is one hell of a beautiful album anyways.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Death Is Not The End Doom Metal
GLOSSA
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Way Forward Sludge Metal
BLACK TUSK
Buy this album from MMA partners
Till Aska Atmospheric Sludge Metal
WALK THROUGH FIRE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Oud Zeer Atmospheric Sludge Metal
ONTAARD
Buy this album from MMA partners
Oud Zeer Sludge Metal
THROWING BRICKS
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Agremorta - Adrocitas (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 2 days ago
Agremorta - Ploratus Umbra (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 2 days ago
Agremorta - Vertex Membrana (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 2 days ago
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR - The Temple Of Curved Space (Official Track Stream)
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR
adg211288· 2 days ago
In Sulfur - The Gate (OFFICIAL VIDEO) 2022
IN SULFUR
Bosh66· 3 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed