Alcest are a polarizing band, as many people feel they are too atmospheric and overrated, and others think they are BRILLIANT. I fall somewhere in between, as while I do decry the flood of crybaby sissy-boy post-rock masquerading as "melancholic", I do actually like this album quite a bit. Alcest are similar to other moody bands mixing BM with atmosphere like Woods of Ypres or even Agalloch, but really this disc has a strong and individual sound. Neige obviously has a really strong talent for melody, as this album is packed full of haunting, sometimes breathtakingly beautiful melodies, many of them acoustic. A lot of them are a little too VH1-strummy for my taste, but when he does wring out a genuine metal riff it is awesome. His clean vocals are gentle but quite affecting, and rather than an expected weak point they are a highlight. The arrangements are long, drawn-out, and rather mellow. Here and there things get heavier and faster and some harsh vocals come in, but they really feel out of place with the rest of the music, and I think he should just ditch them.

There is enough metal here to keep this on the field, but there are a lot of atmospheric, post-rock elements here too, and so if orthodoxy is what you crave then this will not do it. But if you are in a mood for slow, moody, melodic music with a deep and mysterious atmosphere, then this is an album to treasure. Alcest is definitely not for every metal fan, but music this good cannot just be overlooked.