Lantlôs - .neon (2010) (320kbps MP3)

Genre: Atmospheric/Depressive/Suicidal Blackened Shoegaze
Quality: 320kbps MP3
About: Yesterday I discovered this came out, and since I had listened to their album and demos before and liked them, I thought ok I should get it. But if someone had ran my face over with a steamroller I would not have been more surprised. This is a band who has matured so much over the past 5 years, from an almost blast-beat-fest on every song, to... this. Every song brings this wave of emotions, varying from anger to introspective to sad. The musical content varies along with it, there are moments of the fast aggressive black metal everyone loves, then there's passages with progressive-sounding beats and also minimalist parts. I don't know what more to say except it must be heard to be believed. New song of the year: "These Nights Were Ours."

Recommended A must-listen for all fans of the genre, in fact the multi-instrumentalist creator of Alcest is the permanent singer for this band now, and the artwork was done by a member of Les Discrets.

Neige - Vocals (Alcest, Peste Noire, Mortifera (Fra), Phest, Amesoeurs)
Herbst - Guitar, Bass, Drums, Lyrics (Epitaph, Herbst, Impavida, Líam)

Cover artwork by Fursy Teyssier (Les Discrets).

1. Minusmensch 07:49 2. These Nights Were Ours 04:41 3. Pulse / Surreal 08:21 4. Neige de Mars 05:01 5. Coma 06:07 6. Neon 07:42 Total playing time 39:41

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Alcest - Écailles De Lune (2010) (v0 mp3)

Genre: Black Metal, Shoegaze
Quality: mp3 @ v0
About: "Stylistically, Neige reverts to the sound of Black Metal that once shaped him: a picture of heart-rending, otherworldly screams, collages filled with passion and sadness, and the characteristic clean vocals. These mellow and ageless voices manage to weave a shroud of sorrow around the album. "Écailles de Lune" is like a dream, a manifesto of transience and human inferiority. For all the changes, Neige has kept all of his trademarks: calm passages, massive slabs of guitars, catchy melodies, and hook-lines going straight to the heart – all this once more delivers a convincing articulation of ALCEST's unique style.
Close your eyes and dream along. This time, melancholy shall propel and unite us. We immerse ourselves once more in fairyland. This time, it doesn't seem fresh but fallow. Its pallor and its shadows are unfathomable, and it reveals itself to us through our senses. It is always there when we quest for it."
- http://loadown.blogspot.com/ - I wasn't going to attempt to write a better review! Great review.

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- Buy CD, Vinyl, or Limited Edition Box Set

Alcest - Alcest / Les Discrets Split (2009)

Alcest:

Les Discrets:


Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal, Post-Rock, Shoegaze
About: I have been eagerly awaiting this for two months now, and oh man, it was worth the wait. The first track "Percées De Lumière" marks Alcest's first new material in over two years. Whereas the previous album is more commonly classified as "shoegaze", this song makes a bit of a return back to the black metal roots, with heavier riffs and black screams. Track 2 is a mostly ambient song with some clean vocals, but it serves as a decent interlude between the two artist's songs.

Now where I was really surprised was the first "Les Discrets" track. I had listened on myspace, and thought it was ok, but this track grabbed me and bitchslapped me in the face. Surprisingly heavy, great atmosphere. Track 4 was not as memorable, and i felt the 2 minutes of silence at the end was completely unnecessary. But then Les Discrets redeems themselves with Song For Mountains. It is supposedly a demo, but it sounds pretty finished to me.

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