Alcest - Kodama
The call of the spirits. (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on May 16th 2021) Blackgaze has been one of the most controversial subgenres to have come about in the metal underground in the past decade or so. Bands like Deafheaven have been criticised by many over the years for their music’s tenuous relation to more orthodox black metal. Yet it’s those key differences that make the style as interesting as it is, with bands going for an ethereal and almost beautiful sound instead of the cold and harsh feel of normal black metal. Alcest is one of blackgaze’s forefathers, with their music spanning the better part of the last two decades. From the more black metal styled leanings of Souvenirs d’un autre monde to the full on shoegaze of Shelter , they’ve explored many different aspects of their sound through the years, to great success. 2016’s Kodama was a return to blackgaze after Shelter and is undoubtedly the band’s best work to date, and the culmination of a...