LES VOYAGES DE L'ÂME

Wake up, turn off the alarm clock, go to work, get back home, sit in front of the computer, turn it on, open the web browser, check Facebook, watch a couple of videos on Youtube, and finally click on Alcest's "Autre Temps".

The video took a couple of seconds to load, as the gates to heaven take to open. The play button was pressed.

A journey through fantastic landscapes, brutal tenderness, and harmonies and melodies that create a sense of synesthésie, merging both mind and body, was about to begin, and I was totally oblivious to that.

The first minute of "Autre Temps" sets the mood for what is near, an unforgettable experience. The celestial, acoustic guitar strikes its first chords, and when Neige's soothing voice appears, I fly towards a green sky, where all my memories are compressed; but as the progression changes at 1.55, I know something is coming, like a dark and frenzied cloud. At 2.18, I dive into the cloud, and everything evolves into a redeeming experience, elevating me. The song keeps on, making me wish for it to be endless.

Calmness is retrieved, but not for long. "Là Où Naissent Les Couleurs Nouvelles" kicks in with heavy chords, that may relate one self to the earth, and the solid nature of things. Then comes a progression at 1.02 that emancipates that land, and create a rapid river, drifting through colours of the mind, as a lucid dream, or a fever, a memorable and flottante fever. As the harsh vocals appear, one is taken down to the depths of that river, and into the hard consciousness where deep thoughts and feelings tend to stay until something powerful like the blast beat at 3.29 raise them back to the surface. The ending finally connects all of these, and balances the world within, preparing me for the title track.

"Les Voyages De L'Âme" is truly what it indicates, a voyage of the soul, an introspection, an emotional journey that climaxes in each chorus, and rediscovers itself in every verse. Its hard to keep a blank state of mind while listening, as every note take me back to a past, or even future events, and infinite images collide, forming complex, yet completely understandable pictures. As it ends, these marvels fade away, and the mind's eye opens again, tough what I've seen was something memorable.

"Nous Sommes L'Emeraude" is a short break, like a walk through a garden. It is peaceful and calm, yet intense and inspiring towards the end. It may not achieve the same grandeur as the previous tracks, however, it helps oneself rest and get ready for "Beings Of Light".

The fifth track presents an intriguing choir, that breaks, like white angels that get ready to shoot massive amounts of explosive, and finally destroy a fortress of darkness and despair. The mixture of both agressiveness and céleste create a really powerful impact on me, as a younger version of me breaking the walls that my actual self can easily trespass.

This sensation brings me to the next song, "Faiseurs De Mondes", that involves all kind of feelings and thoughts. Through choirs, acoustic guitars, harsh vocals, tremolo riffing and fast-paced drums, Alcest creates a world where I am inmortal, and everything around me is both black and white, and red and blue, as obscurity, fury, purity and tranquility. Reaching its climax, the track reaches unimaginable heights, and penetrates the sky and ultimate elevation, like a firework in a clear grey sky.

"Havens" pacifies and clears the path, in a celestial and, as the title implies, heavenly way. The chords calm down any emotion that may try to escape, and generate a sense of easy anticipation, without being boring or dull.

Finally "Summer's Glory" surrounds the mind and the soul, and create a bittersweet and reflexive soundscape. Nothing can be wrong or impure now, tough some moments of the track reminds me of the fragility of ourselves. At 4.13 one can visualize the arrival of something omnipotent yet natural. Chords strike at 5.04, and the last journey begins. Heaven, earth, sky and ground merge, and everything encompassed in life is consumated into a single formation. A formation divine and pure, involving a clear guitar, a global choir, and a distorted rhythm. A formation capable of moving mountains and changing hearts. A formation unique to a dream, or a revelation. The last chord illuminates all, and glory is achieved.

As the last chord glides and fades, I open my eyes once again, and close the web browser.

Wake up, turn off the alarm clock, go to work, and live my life once again. But this time, something is different. Now I understand my soul.

This was a beautiful voyage.