Alcest (FR)

About

Alcest is widely credited with pioneering blackgaze, the genre that blends black metal's raw intensity with the dreamy haze of shoegaze, and it all traces back to one person: Neige, the French multi instrumentalist who has driven the project since its founding in 2000. Their 2005 EP Le Secret was the turning point, introducing a concept rooted in Neige's childhood visions of a distant, otherworldly place he calls Fairy Land, and that idea has shaped every record since. Drummer Winterhalter joined in 2009, rounding out the core lineup. Over seven studio albums, Alcest have pushed and pulled at their own sound in fascinating ways. Their 2014 album Shelter ditched metal entirely for pure shoegaze, with Neige later admitting he was deep in a Slowdive obsession at the time. Kodama in 2016 swung back toward their heavier roots, heavily inspired by Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke and Japanese art and culture. Their most recent album, Les Chants de l'Aurore, arrived in 2024.