Alcest - Les Chants de l'Aurore (ALBUM REVIEW)
Release date: June 21st, 2024 (via Nuclear Blast)
Well, here we are.
While I had indeed brought up the name Alcest in some of the previous articles, this is - as a matter of fact - the very first time I give a full album of theirs a thoroughly proper listen, one that to the fans of this French post-black outfit would deem too long overdue.
And it just so happens to be the latest full-length release from them: “Les Chants de l’Aurore” (French for “the aurora’s chants”).
Right on the eve of my usual publication schedule - today, that is.
Serendipity.
To be completely candid, beyond the scrobbles of a few (clarify: two) already-much-popular “Sapphire” and “Kodama”, my Alcest knowledge borders on nonexistence. So aside from being a review in essence, consider this a reaction of the ears pretty much totally uninitiated to the band, in whose taste of music the absence of Alcest seems a little surprising: after all I have indeed had my time in the past dabbling in music of a gentler gamut: think atmospheric black metal a la Lustre, Elderwind, and Ueldes; or math rock in the vein of Covet and CHON.
Although I must say, the overall sentiment of “Les Chants de l’Aurore” is decidedly upbeat and happy, a stark contrast to what I usually listen to these day, which leans more into despondent despair and seething anger. The opener “Komorebi” wastes no time to set the mood with the bright and merry instrumentation, complemented with the cheering chants found in the intro and the later section of the song.
If anyone has yet imagined what black metal sounds like in a major key, now you do.
Even on songs that do not explicitly utilize the aforementioned joyous compositional elements and opt for a more melancholic feel, such as the immediate follower to the track above which is also the very first single used to promote the album - “L’Envol”, the sound is unequivocally serene, and beautifully so.
Neither totally tranquil, nor totally vivacious, but wholly emotional.
At least to my ears, much of “Les Chants de l’Aurore” falls within the conventions of post-rock, built mostly upon emotive, shimmering guitar riffs, dynamic drumming patterns in a more laid-back tempo, heart-tugging synths, and soulful singing from Neige. That said, elements of black metal are still present in this album: take the tertiary “Améthyste” or the penultimate “L’Enfant de la Lune” for instance: both possess the kind of riffage and cadences that can easily be found in bands of the genre’s atmospheric category such as Austere, Drudkh, and/or a more obscure Thai outfit named Lotus of Darkness; hell, the latter of the two songs even shifts gear into double-time and blast beat for good measure.
And, I’ll be damned, Neige surely has some pipes, whether the man is singing or screaming.
Objectively speaking, the latest offering from Alcest, “Les Chants de l’Aurore” is a phenomenal oeuvre d’art that can evoke most immense emotions within even the most callous of hearts. Subjectively, I am genuinely astounded by the of thoughts and feelings sowed inside my mind after listening to it: the types that actually made me reflect on myself as an artist and - in a broader sense - a person.
Tranquility is not to be avoided nor resisted. It is to - as it should - be embraced.
Listen to “Les Chants de l’Aurore” in full here:
