Band:	Alcest
Album:	Le Secret
Style:	Atmospheric black metal
Release date:	May 2005

01. Le Secret
02. Elévation

[2011 re-release]
01. Le Secret [2011 version]
02. Elévation [2011 version]
03. Le Secret
04. Elévation

Alcest, after their first demo, "Tristesse Hivernale", offer their first official EP, consisting only of two compositions filled with lyricism, evoking imaginary landscapes that present in a beautiful way the melancholy and dismay of winter.

What this French band offers is black metal, but it's not your typical black that has over-flooded the scene. Let's see the songs one by one since they are not that many and each of the compositions has a different approach in terms of structure, yet they pace so beautifully together in the overall outcome.

The first song of this EP is "Le Secret" and it is a 15-minute hymn filled with melancholy and a fragile/emotional approach, an atmosphere evoked by the inspired guitar riffing and the fabulous acoustic passages, whilst the vocals are clean, almost reciting, yet interpreted in such a wonderful way that won't make you think of another way of vocal expression concerning this composition.

The second composition of the album is "Elevation". The keyboards in the beginning take their time to unfold their atmosphere-evoking melodies for around 3 minutes creating an ambient-oriented feeling and then the guitar riffing breaks this fragile serenity escalating the emotional charge of the song, leaving behind a bittersweet taste. The rhythm section plays its role well, being creative and being not in the background. The howls of the singer are utterly expressive and dramatic, making the whole wintry soundscape more gloomy while the guitar riffing accompanies him in the most ideal way, offering some really inspired ideas. A really wonderful song filled with intense atmosphere and inspiration.

A special reference, I think, should be made to the production of "Le Secret" which is really good and doesn't bury the very good ideas of the band, on the contrary, it helps them sound even better lending them the element that can make the compositions wonderful and pleasing to the ears.

Concluding, "Le Secret" is a hidden diamond concerning the black metal scene, "a secret", so if you find it somewhere give it a chance, it will pay you back in the most appropriate way!