Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde

Alcest | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 14, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Profound Lore
• ASIN: B000UNYPNA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #227,879 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most beautiful thing I've heard in years, September 5, 2007

By 

Matt Massuch (New Hudson, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde (Audio CD)

When my bandmate called me in the middle of the night to tell me about this new band he couldn't stop listening to, I was intrigued. How could a one-man project go from raw black metal to something of the shoegaze realm with black metal influences? This is exactly how it should happen.

I have been listening to both black metal and shoe gaze since I was 11. Ten years later, I still have a great amount of respect for both genres. Black metal has lost it's flare in recent years and the newer genre of depressive black metal has shown great progress. I've been playing in a shoegaze band for almost a year and a half now, and that is where my heart lies. I never thought the two could ever meld. But then, Souvenirs d'Un Autre Monde shows up, seemingly out of nowhere.

This album is the most beautifully sad music I've heard in years. It's crushing in the sense that it overwhelms the listener right from the beginning. Loud cymbals get swallowed up by a distinctly black-metal riff, and the sound becomes overwhelming. It's immediately clear that this is no black metal album. The wall of sound is supplemented by minimalist riffing with a crystal-clear tone. Vocally, Neige's tone is hauntingly beautiful. It sits like a grey cloud over the music, and I mean that in the best way possible. Track 4, Ciel Errant, is where this album shines. An acoustic intro is thrown straight into a solid riffing pattern, with great variations all over. The bass creates another voice that drifts into the wall of sound seamlessly. It's a truly magical song that words simply fail.

In ten years of delving into these genres, I can't even say that My Bloody Valentine's Loveless has put me at this much of a loss for words. Neige claims he never listened to post rock or shoegaze before writing this album, this was simply an interpretation of a dream land. For having no idea what he has gotten himself into, Alcest may have just created the best album of 2007, and an album that will remain close by to my CD player, Ipod, and computer for years to come.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dying with a smile through life's path, August 10, 2009

By 

NECROSADIK (Mexico City, Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde (Audio CD)

Alcest - Souvenirs d'Un Autre Monde
France - 2007
Prophecy Productions
Niege - all instruments and vocals

I discovered Alcest, when I was listening to AUSTERE, so when I ordered this album I was expecting something similar to Austere, and the depressive melancholic black metal scene.

When Alcest's album arrived to me, I understand that this is not the same style as Austere, Alcest reflects the purity and the sadness inside the mind of a man.

It can guide you through the desolated paths of life, all across the pain and then set you free with a peaceful smile.

That is Alcest, the pure decadence of the insignificance of being alive.

NECROSADIK!

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars you're not burning churches to this stuff..., October 23, 2007

By 

Joseph Broze (chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde (Audio CD)

Although this French one man band has been known for putting out somewhat melodic and shoegaze-influenced black metal (ala Xasthur, Leviathan, etc) in the past, on this record the metal is turned down to zero.

There are fastly-picked and melodic black metal guitars and even slight blast beats but it still sounds more like an indie rock record. There are NO growled or screamed vocals on this whole CD, thankfully!

So...for black metal fans who are yearning for something a little different...and shoegaze or indie fans who are looking to do likewise, BUY THIS CD!!! I found it to be very refreshing.