Has it really been 3 years since Neige released his debut Souvenirs d’Un Autre Monde and caused quite a stir with his mellow, shoe gaze tempered take on black metal? A form of metal I termed ‘green metal’.

How time passes, and with Amesoeurs being disbanded, it appears Neige is using Alcest to channel even more of his post-rock and shoe gaze influences as Écailles de Lune is even more mellow and acoustic based, so it’s less black metal, but no less enthralling and captivating.

Even when Alcest delves into semi-traditional, tremolo picked, black metal riffage, like 8 minutes into languid acoustic opener “Écailles de Lune (Part I)” and the particularly elegant “Écailles de Lune (Part II)”, it’s more warm, folky and jangly like early Ulver than anything else. The otherwise dreamy “Percées de Lumière” has riffs and rasped vocals, but they are a more Amesoeurs sounding, mid paced trot.

Other than those three tracks, the rest of the album is more introspective and clean, with Neige’s improved crooning that sounds less like a female singer. And speaking of female singers I would have like to have heard Amesoeurs cohort Audrey Sylvain, who graced Souvenirs d’Un Autre Monde, help out on a track or two again.

The album’s mid point instrumental, “Abysses” seems to be the turning point for the Neige as a whole, not just the album as both the following “Solar Song” and rangy closer “Sur L’Océan Couleur de Fer” seem much more introspective, dreamy and delicate with no presence of metal, be it black, grey or green. But there is melancholic haze to everything, that’s alluring yet despondent, making the album a warm but downhearted listen from beginning to end, certainly elevating Niege and Alcest to the upper echelon of singer songwriters that should be considered artists, not just metal acts.

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