Alcest
Le Secret

Around the charismatic figure of Neige revolves a small group of bands that make originality and uniqueness their strength, knowing how to stand out within the crowded European scene: our hero is (or has been) involved in some French formations, among which the medieval outcasts Peste Noire, the modernists Amesoeurs, and the melancholic Mortifera; if we want to add to these the recent entry into a little-known Norwegian formation, the Forgotten Woods (does anyone know them?), the portrait certainly doesn't seem like that of a novice.

Alcest is one of the latest projects born from Neige's mind, a leader and multi-instrumentalist, assisted in this debut EP by Aegnor and Argoth, both from the parent band Peste Noire. The project was born in the new millennium, with a demo released the following year, but for the first studio test one must wait until 2005, which sees the release of this first EP "Le Secret". More than in the typical French singing, which is not new to transalpine bands, the real innovation lies in the choice to adopt an innovative, personal, and highly recognizable style; Neige indeed distances himself both from the aggressive Black Metal in the Peste Noire style, populated by decomposing figures, where diseases spread through countryside castles and walls, and from the modernist and committed side of Amesoeurs.

The choice falls on a intimate and reflective Black Metal, calm and always on tiptoe, but capable of fascinating and enchanting, despite the difficulty of the proposal. The short EP presents two very different tracks, but which already manage to communicate that sense of unease and warm coldness that will be characteristic of the subsequent masterpiece "Souvenirs D'Un Autre Monde".

The first track, the title-track "Le Secret" adopts the formula that will be consistently used by the following album: 2/3 minutes spent with the flow of a stream, the chirping of birds, the sweet arpeggios of the acoustic guitar weaving intangible and ethereal patterns; then the water mirror ripples, the drums and rhythm become animated, the guitars turn electric, they scratch, leading to the actual riffing.

It's necessary to say a few words about this aspect: Alcest's approach to Black Metal is avant-garde; this term may surprise those expecting from this label, at least in the Metal field, a fusion between metallic and electronic sounds, perhaps raising the beat count, depriving the sound of its human component. One imagines something similar to Fear Factory in the simplest case, or maybe to the more experimental Ulver or Manes: Neige, however, chose to operate an internal transformation of the genre, working on the structure of the riff, bending it to expressive needs, wanting to create a more melancholic and ethereal sound than the classic tremolo picking (or "mono-chords"). This leads to a fusion between Black Metal and the so-called Shoegaze, a musical form part of the Post-Punk/New Wave realm (My Bloody Valentine the most representative name), where a primordial Pop/Rock setup is overwhelmed by a layer of noise generated by the continuous and enveloping riffing of distorted guitars.

On this basis, Neige also builds his track, always varying the internal structure of the song but keeping unchanged the melancholic spirit behind it.

On the same coordinates also moves the second "Elevation", taken from the homonymous flower by Baudelaire; text and music intertwine significantly: the rhythm rises, at times almost relying on Blast Beats, while the riffing more fully merges the different natures we've discussed. It is the last time Neige will rely on the scream singing, tormented and beautiful at the same time, since on the first track of the album, as in the next chapter, clean singing will prevail.

"Elevation" is the story of a flight, to which everyone can give their own interpretation; personally, I see a motion of ascension to the sky, the smile of someone leaving this world, the neo-classical calm of the statues in my city's cemetery, where marble angels move undisturbed between tree-lined paths, where pale bronze figures look down at you from the top of their thrones, finally free.