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Task 4 fanzine
1. From Black Metal To Dream Pop: Alcest’s Evolution
Henry Buckham / Draft 2
First off I’m gonna say that I know all about
the flame war with Neige’s choice to finally
throw out all traces of Alcest’s black metal
background with the release of Shelter. It’s all
a matter of taste whether or not you’re
actually liking this fairytale landscape the
band is now crafting or you’ve been getting
these sadistic urges to invade that pristine
world and mess it up, taking it all back to their
raw and primitive origins.
And you know, it’s completely fine. Speaking as a long time fan of the band I can’t say I’m
surprised at all that Shelter finally broke the status quo of a shoegaze act with minor hints of
black metal from their riffs and vocals. The 2007 Souvenirs D’un Autre Monde certainly
proved that change was on the way as Neige’s sound drifted from one of music’s most
beastly genres into an idyllic dreamscape, even if the succeeding Ecailles de Lune presented
itself as a fusion of black metal and shoegaze, with the fan community coining the term
‘blackgaze’ to describe the style. The title itself of their 2014 release definitely ties into their
thinking of a better and more peaceful world compared to the dystopia of corpses and
demons that inhabit Alcest’s early days.
This shift in direction comes from what Neige describes as a series of visions experienced in
childhood of a dreamland, free from pain and sorrow and a place to seek refuge whenever
the going was tough. Alcest has always been a personal project for our Neige and it’s no
surprise that the style can change on a whim to suit his preferences at the time. Alcest’s other
full-time member Winterhalter (on drums) said he took a while to get used to Alcest’s softer
approach, but eventually warmed up to the style and now he’s in there with the new material,
particularly apparent with the new album produced in Iceland with Birgir Jón Birgisson
(Producer of the famous Sigur Rós) that revolves around a safe place to escape reality and
reunite with who we really are deep down. The album itself a great little journey through
Neige’s world, with soft rolling melodies and refreshing emotion that set it apart to his other
releases.
I’ll get it out into the open that I fully embraced their ascent into a Slowdive-inspired territory of
clouds and dreams simply because I believe that’s where they belong, especially with the
inspirational backing of Neige’s childhood experiences. It’s unique. Before 2005 the band was
what I considered run of the mill black metal, a genre unfortunately plagued with same-y
bands that reproduced the themes of death, misery and pain set out by the some of the most
legendary acts from its birthplace of Norway, with big names like Mayhem, Burzum and
Darkthrone. My personal opinion is that, simply, Alcest’s early raw demos are rubbish, and
not much of a loss when compared to Souvenirs and onward.
True that this change wasn’t received well by the die-hard fans of Alcest’s metal roots,
understandably, and their complaints call back to the words of former member Aegnor (now
known as La sale Famine de Valfunde) who left Alcest in 2001 to focus on his own straight
black metal act Peste Noire, citing his departure as due to Alcest’s change of direction into a
fairy land unfitting of his personal views and wishes. Those views are certainly clear as day
when comparing Peste Noire’s primitive and chaotic sound to this new direction Neige has
embraced. That kind of backlash from his early fans is then quite justifiable considering that
the change in style could easily be seen by some as a direct attack against black metal and
what it stands for.
Anyway, while the band may have evolved in the studio, Neige has stated that they will
continue to play their previous songs live in concert, metal or not, thanks to their popularity.
The music of Alcest is how he wants it to be, and that he will not be influenced by popularity
or opinion. But at live shows, he knows that his fans are most important and his goal is to
make sure that concert is an experience to remember. In his own words, he may have lost a
