LES VOYAGES DE L'ÂME

I discovered Alcest in 2010 when I accidentally stumbled over the great Ecailles De Lune album. I thought the first half of that album was nothing short of spectacular, but the second half was meh. Same with 2007's Souvenirs d'Un Autre Monde: first half great, second half meh. So Neige's songwriting didn't hold up over an entire album. On Les Voyages De L'Ame however, that fault has been more or less corrected.

With the exception of tracks 4 & 5 which are okay, but not outstanding (track 5 even sounds like Sigur Ròs gone black metal), the album is a culmination of everything Alcest did on the previous albums, only with better and more consistent songwriting. Winterhalter's drumming is also at an all-time high, making tasty fills & tricks here and there while not overshadowing the melodies and riffs.

The best track on the album (and possibly best Alcest song ever) is Faiseurs De Mondes. At 8 mins, it sums up every aspect of Alcest done masterfully: The first 2 mins with black metal screams, melodic breaks, otherworldly atmosphere, tasteful acoustic guitars and a downright beautiful coda that could go on forever (if I could decide :P) This track is #1, just ahead of Percees De Lumiere and Printemps Emeraude.

Autre Temps, the title track and Summer's Glory are also stunningly beautiful tracks. Là Où Naissent Les Couleurs Nouvelles is also good, but 9 mins feels slightly overlong and repetitive at the end.

So I'm happy that Alcest finally unleashed their potential over an entire album. Even though Les Voyages De L'Ame is similar to Ecailles De Lune, its consistent songwriting to me makes it superior. But I do hope Alcest will evolve musically, and not just repeat Ecailles/Voyages ad nauseum.