Alcest: Spiritual Instinct (2019)

This album made it to third place on my Albums of the Year list, so I am going to spoil the end of the review by saying that I love this album.  It is however, the biggest surprise from that list, because I never thought that I would truly enjoy an Alcest album.  That is how good this album really is.  It made it past any preconceived notions I had about this band.

The reason for my skepticism about Alcest is their status as one of the leading bands in the mostly regrettable "blackgaze" subgenre, which includes bands like Deafheaven.  The bands combine black metal with ultra-mellow indie rock.  Previous releases from Alcest have been so mellow and focused on the less metal aspects as to be mostly unlistenable to me.  So I never really thought this album would be up my alley.  But then I heard "Protection" and "Sapphire".

What makes this release so impressive is the renewed focus on the more metal aspects.  There are black metal screams here as well as a far more aggressive riffing style.  But it fits in seemlessly with the lush, ethereal and melancholic melodies.  The result is a dark album that is at the same time breathlessly beautiful.  The only downside is that it drags just a little bit in the second half, but the first half is utterly flawless.

I was blown away by this release.  I still highly doubt I will enjoy much of their prior material, and I am by no means going to start checking out other blackgaze bands.  But this album is indeed incredible.