Atmospheric black metal trailblazers Alcest have announced a new album, Les Chants De L’Aurore, due June 21 via Nuclear Blast. They’ve also shared lead single “L’Envol,” and here’s what band leader Neige says about it:
“L’Envol” is a musical return to the atmosphere of Alcest’s first albums. I wrote this song after an inspiring trip to Corsica, where I met amazing people and was surrounded by some of the most unique landscapes I have ever seen. It is about escaping from earthly reality to join a flock of mythical birds flying through the known boundaries of our world. The song is accompanied by a music video created by the talented French artist Yoann Lossel, who also designed the album cover. For this first single release, we wanted the music, lyrics and visuals to be as coherent and immersive as possible. All the tracks on Les Chants de l’Aurore are very different from one another, but we thought this one would be a great introduction to the overall atmosphere and themes of the album.
It’s a gorgeous song that finds the band more in heavy dream pop and post-rock territory than metal territory. The vocals are mostly clean-sung, and when screams do come in, they’re used more as a way to enhance the song’s climax than as a crutch. As Neige says, “In the metal scene ALCEST is a weird band, in the indie/post-rock scene ALCEST is a weird band- we never quite fit in. This is how I feel in life, always an outsider; It’s not a problem, it’s just the way it is.”
Alcest — 2024 Tour Dates
21.10. HR Zagreb – Boogaloo
23.10. GR Athens – Gagarin 205
24.10. GR Thessaloniki – WE SKG
25.10. TR Istanbul – IF Performance Hall
28.10. RO Bucarest – Quantic Club
02.11. CH Zurich – Meh Suff!
13.11. DE Cologne – Essigfabrik
14.11. DE Stuttgart – Im Wizemann
15.11. DE Munich – Backstage Werk
16.11. DE Milan – Alcatraz
18.11. SO Ljubljana – Kino Siska
19.11. AT Vienne – Simm City
20.11. HU Budapest – Durer Kert
21.11. CZ Prague – Roxy
23.11. DE Berlin – Festsaal
24.11. PL Warsaw – Proxima
25.11. LT Vilnius – Loftas
26.11. EE Tallinn – Paavli Kultuurivabrik
27.11. FI Helsinki – Kultuuraio
29.11. SE Stockholm – Fryshuset
30.11. NO Oslo – Vulkan Arena
01.12. DK Copenhagen – Vega
03.12. DE Hamburg – Gruenspan
04.12. NL Amsterdam- Paradiso
05.12. BE Bruxelles – Ancienne Belgique
06.12. FR Paris – L’Olympia
07.12. LU Esch-sur-Alzette – Den Atelier
08.12. DE Frankfurt – Batschkapp
11.12. UK London – Electric Brixton
12.12. UK Manchester – Academy 2
13.12. UK Glasgow – The Garage
14.12. IR Dublin – Academy
