Alcest

I'm posting about this band because I want everyone to enjoy them/him as much as I do. I don't even really know how to describe it. This man's music is easily accessible and enjoyable to anyone who likes things that sound good, plain and simple.

You can't say "only people into obscure black metal or shoegaze like this", because...it's not too out there, it's not too harsh EVER (the vocals are 80/20 % clean sung on every record after the demo and 100% clean on the new record, Shelter), the guitars are brilliantly rich, full of clarity and ambiance and the lengths of the songs...rather than dragging on, leave you savoring every note and wanting more. I can't even decide which one of Alcest's records I like more. Shelter has so many different hints of influence from different bands and styles of music.

But, so did "Les Voyages de l'Âme", with its subtle hints of Smashing Pumpkins & Sigur Ros, while still having heavy drumming and the occasional black metal riff and vocal. The black metallic undertones could be compared to a more melodic/primitive Taake.

"Shelter" sees Neige completely transitioning to a powerhouse of shoegaze/rock/pop that I could see being performed in front of countless amounts of people, mesmerizing everyone in the room. If you close your eyes (without falling asleep), each composition of every song on this record serves more as a passage into auditory bliss, rather than just someone fiddling out another pretentiously overdone shoegaze record. This record is more of a euphorically mystifying experience of the mind and imagination than a listening session.

So, like I was saying, you don't have to be a fan of black metal or just a fan of shoegaze or chill-out music to enjoy this man's music. Do yourself a favor and just listen to these two records and you'll thank me later.

Au cessus de nos têtes, tournoyants.

http://www18.zippyshare.com/v/9823048/file.html

Vermis (2013)

So...here's another one. Another band that sounds like a Armageddon, but, centralized and controlled. Like a pile of anvils falling off Mount Fuji onto a giant sack of kittens. Ulcerate is a new band to me. When I say that, I mean that I know they've been around for over a decade, but, this is the first thing I've heard from them and I am an idiot for not hearing them sooner.

 

Their sound is very refreshing. What I enjoy the most about this band is that it sounds like, to me, they take a great deal of influence from two things: the sludgier, slower, down-tuned Morbid Angel songs (God of Emptiness, Where the Slime Live, etc), and I could hear a decent amount of influence from veteran doomy-death metal band, Demelich. Not only this, but, Ulcerate's riffage is very erratic and unconventional. Lots of random time signatures, jazzy interludes and downright randomness, without ever losing the blackest-of-midnight undertone throughout the entire record. This is an undeniably heavy, genre-bending, mind-fuck of a release.

 Reckoning is upon the meek. 

Paracletus (2010)

Black metal is a very distinguished, elite and downright snooty subgenre of metal. Many elitist black metal fans have their opinions on what is and isn't considered true black metal. I, honestly, could not give a damn if something is considered "true" or if it's considered sell-out bullshit. I think most black metal warriors can unanimously agree that Deathspell Omega is a great band, plain and simple.

They've been kind of a chameleon as far as styles, starting their existence off as a great, traditional style black metal band, drawing a great deal of inspiration from Norwegian pioneers, like Bathory & Darkthrone. Later on, it's almost as if they all got struck by lightning during a band practice and these crazy random songs just came out of nowhere.

The songs I'm referring to are on my favorite of their records, Paracletus. Now, I have no idea if they had a lineup change anywhere in their career, because they keep their identities anonymous, but it's almost as if the band's chief songwriters got completely replaced. I loved their older stuff, but holy shit, this record....How do I describe it?.....It's basically like....being in a catatonic stage, awake, but asleep, trapped in your own mind, spiraling and twisting out of control into a vortex of destruction. I would compare this album to an audial illustration of organized chaos, choreographed Armageddon, etc. The music makes almost no sense, but makes complete sense, at the same time. This is a very unconventional black metal band, yes, but, still black metal nonetheless. This record...hurts.

This congregation was cast out of humanity.

Satanic Royalty (2011)

A friend of mine turned me on to this band recently, after describing them as a mixture of Venom and Motorhead...with proper production quality and well-tuned instruments....Not that that's a stab at the primitive vibe of earlier Venom records, "Black Metal" and "Welcome to Hell" are some of my favorite metal records, period, but, it's refreshing to hear a new band with such a respectively honed sound, with such a wonderfully recorded album.

Not only does this band pay audial respects to Venom and Motorhead, but Midnight have a very raw, 70s punk rock feel as well. I'd even say they remind me of The Stooges and The Exploited a bit. The stereotypical, but always fun, Satanic imagery and thematic elements most likely also play a decent sized part of the band's fast rise to popularity, as it is always a hot-button subject, an attention grabber and means of scrutinization, still, in 2014.

Besides the fact that the band's conceal their faces, there doesn't seem to be much of a gimmick in their live presentation, or any added nonsensical visual aids. Not that I don't enjoy the occasional pyrotechnic and/or ritualistic sacrifice, but a direct approach towards a genre that's been saturated with the same corpse-paint ridden, gauntlet and sword-weilding Lord of the Rings worshippers for the 25 some odd years, is a breath of fresh (winter) air.

So, if you are a fan of early Motorhead and punk influenced black metal of yester-year, with Kronos-esque vocals, you might want to jump off your hell-stallion and give Midnight's raw energy a once-over.

Call of storms, wind and rage.