CD review ALCEST ‘Spiritual Instinct’

(9/10) Alcest is the brainchild of Neige who teamed up with drummer Winterhalter ten years ago. The duo has with ‘Spiritual Instinct’ a new longplayer right in the starting blocks. Alcest longplayers are demanding and challenging. Being the opposite of music fast food also ‘Spiritual Instinct’ asks for time and spinning the longplayer a few times brings constantly new things to plate, details weaved into big sound constructions.

Neige and Winterhalter invested three years into the creation of their sixth album. There was a lot to process for the mainman and working on the new longplayer was relief and an outlet all together. ‘Spiritual Instinct’ is a dark and heavy album that more than once reflects Neige roots in Black Metal.

The greatness of Alcest and the new longplayer in specific is the tension between poles that generates creativity. It’s the emotional impact that can be nearly felt with each note played on ‘Spiritual Instinct’. There are moments of darkness and there’s no reason to stay there. The need to stay connected to yourself is an important factor in fighting the demons and evolving as a personality.

The music on ‘Spiritual Instinct’ reflects the tension and the fight in a great way with songs like ‘Lîlle Dead Morts’ being a perfect example. The inner strife manifests itself in melancholic parts being in an interplay with fast and blackened outbursts along the way. In general the album is referring to the Black Metal roots from the arlier day and became heavier than some of the previous albums.

All songs on ‘Spiritual Instinct’ are great ones with the title track being a tune you shouldn’t miss. Sound density, soundscapes and a lot of feel fuse to an excellent composition that never gets too heavy but emotionally charged from start to end.

Alcest, that’s always a sound voyage with a stage finish that’s hard to predict. Neige and Winterhalter always sticks to some key elements in their music, but the way they play with it and evolve their music is impressive. ‘Spiritual Instinct’ is a next leg on this journey and it’s again a wow. Spirituality and Metal goes together extremely well, that’s what this longplayer proves in perfection.