StefanoHab

I don't know... I tried to listen to it more than once but I was quite disappointed... I am a die-hard fan of Katatonia since the days of Dance of December Souls, and I'm not the usual uptight fan fixated on Brave Murder Day, blind to the subsequent progressions; on the contrary, I loved all their albums up to The Great Cold Distance... Even Night Is The New Day, although I didn't enjoy it too much, had pieces that I gladly revisited and that conveyed something to me... But with this one, I tried to listen to it twice in a row and it just didn't resonate with me at all, it left me nothing, I found it flat and inconsistent... Maybe it's me who didn't listen to it properly? I swear I will give it another try, that I will listen to it with the utmost attention, hoping that I’ll like it and that I was mistaken... But for now, really, it didn’t say anything to me! Huh! I’ll try again...

P.S. To avoid any misunderstandings, I want to clarify that when I spoke of "more obtuse and intransigent Scaruffismo," I certainly wasn't referring to the reviewer; I was talking about a general attitude that I often notice on Debaser and that sometimes makes me lose the desire to listen to new records... Hell, I admire and respect you a lot also because we have very similar musical tastes (Drudkh first and foremost!), so don't take it personally if I like this album! :-)

EnvyEnvyEnvyEnvyEnvyEnvy drooling :-P__________________

I saw them live at Traffic in Turin. I don’t know if I would ever listen to one of their albums, but at the concert, they blew my mind and tripped me out like crazy.

A beautiful album, at least for half of it; the other half doesn't quite know where it wants to go (I even heard something of Radiohead... in a Thursday album... Hmm?!). Too inconsistent. If they had written all the songs in the vein of the first three and Subway Funeral, it would have been fantastic. Still, I listen to it with great pleasure.

Scarlett. Probably the sexiest woman on the planet. Pure sex. Immensely hot, majestically stunning, galactically out of this world. And also a great actress, especially in Ghost World, Match Point, and A Love Song For Bobby Long with Travolta. There must be a reason why the one and only great Woody Allen always wants her in his films.
But let me say one thing: she has a voice of ....., no wonder I only want to watch her movies dubbed! Besides, I hate cover albums, even worse if they're from a single artist; I would give the album a 1, but I’ll give it a 2 as a tribute to the Supreme Goddess of Hotness.

One of the few films, among the thousands I've seen in my life, that has truly managed to make me laugh about dramatic topics like physical disability and social marginalization. In fact, very rarely have I found myself laughing so hard that I had to grab a tissue to wipe away a few tears, all during the same film, as happened with this one.
Not a masterpiece, but still beautiful and highly recommended.
A minimalist but effective review. And I appreciate the choice!

I don't know why, but I expected it. Even Pixar, after all, has to adapt to the market... It's a pity that it has been able to produce some absolute masterpieces of contemporary cinema, like Wall-E. I don't expect anything more from The Brave than a perfectly packaged product but lacking in content compared to previous films, and I believe I'll go see it with this mindset. Oh well. I hope to be proven wrong.

Not to play the contrarian or, worse, create controversy, mind you, but I find it wonderful. And in my opinion, the review starts from a distorted perspective on this work. The fight against mannerism, often undertaken on Debaser, is something I will never understand, as it seems to me to be yet another damage caused by the most obtuse and uncompromising Scaruffismo. Souvenirs d'Une Autre Monde is a beautiful album; I bought it originally and listened to it hundreds of times. But enough with these sterile comparisons. "It doesn't add anything..." so what? Why should it? Les Voyages De L'Ame is the perfect "in the style of Alcest" album, neither more nor less, and that's enough for me to consider it a little gem. And I'll tell you, I listen to it with even more pleasure than the first album, which I find excessively melodic compared to the typically Alcestian style, and I find it even more complete.
For heaven's sake, there are those who don't listen to anything that doesn't have something new to say, and those who prefer to blast into their ears the new albums from bands that seem to always propose the same songs with 2 or 3 changed chords. I think differently. An album can be a (semi)masterpiece even when it doesn't add anything to what the artist has done previously, and even when it is normally considered inferior to their past works.
I speak as a passionate fan of Alcest who has loved their previous works and who is not at all disappointed with the new one, considering it the ideal continuation of their artistic journey. Les Voyages De L'Ame is a wonderful album and, regardless of whether one likes it or not, giving it a 3 (or worse, a 2) just because it "doesn't add anything," or calling it "plastic," seems to me a snobbish attitude. Saying that "it only took one day to listen to it" seems snobbish. Saying that metal fans just need to be fed the usual "reheated soup" seems even more snobbish. Alcest is not the type to do such things; they are not the type to produce poor and worthless albums; they are not capable of it. Unlike you, I didn’t take just one day to listen to this album. I savored it attentively for weeks. And I managed to appreciate the individual riffs, the melodies, the harmonies, its dramatic intimacy. For some, these tracks have "annoyed them." For me, they filled my heart with joy. And I’m not someone who settles for Grandma's usual stew.
I apologize if my opinion isn't welcomed, as I appreciate the reviews and musical tastes of Hell, but this time I disagree, and I felt it was my duty to express it.

One of the most brilliant albums of the '90s. Perhaps precisely for this reason, one of the most horrible.
An album that makes me cringe immensely from a musical standpoint and that I deeply respect from a conceptual one. Total deconstruction of rock. A jumble of cacophony with no head or tail that nevertheless has its own reason for being. Royal Trux stands in rock music as Jackson Pollock stands in painting. Totally, completely unlistenable. But that was exactly its intent. Scaruffi's way of life.
I listened to the album, not by chance, just once, enough to understand what the true purpose of this band was. I wouldn't do it again even under torture.
A review that captures the essence of this album better than it could do itself. I won't give the album a rating. I don't have the courage.