Füneral Rain Press Cörps

Where: Starlite Room, Edmonton, Alberta
When: October 7, 2011

Last night I was expecting only to see one band, Alcest, but as it turns out I got to see two.

Junius opened up the show with their brand of American post metal. Isis, Pelican, and Deftones all smashed up together into a gorgeous, heavy blend. These guys are phenomenal live, and even Mrs. Blaspheme is a certified fan now. I hope they feel their reception was good enough for them to come back to Edmonton soon, because I know I’ll be there, at the front. We definitely grabbed one of their CDs on out way out, The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist, as well as a pair of patches.

After Junius awed the crowd, Alcest took the stage with a very warm reception. There were quite of people there for Alcest, rather than the headliner. Neige and his full band (I wondered if he would have a band as the albums are pretty much just him and drummer Winterhalter) were quite the atypical stereotypes of Frenchmen: quiet and polite, rather than loud and polite. And not a cigarette was lit once the whole set! I wish I could have filmed Neige say “We are Alcest from France”, it was the perfect introduction to them.

This is another band that Mrs. Blaspheme has come to love, just as I told her she would. Shoegaze and black metal combine to create a mesmerizing effect on the listener, and the viewer too. I wondered how Alcest would translate live, and they translate just fine. Deep fog shrouded them most of the time, with blue backlighting outlining their obscured forms, but on occasions where the fog dissipated, the whole band was smiling, really feeling the music and the crowd. Along with the Junius CD we left with Le Secret on vinyl and Écailles De Lune Digipak CD.

After Alcest Enslaved were going to play, but we had to leave before then. Which, I must say, is not to slight Enslaved. Rather it’s because we work too much and had been up at four in the morning and had to get up again at five. So a late night was not going to be possible, as my eyes were heavy before Junius even. Also, to be honest, we’ve seen Enslaved before, opening for Dimmu Borgir on their last trip through town, and it was awesome. So hopefully they come back again soon because I would love to see them again. Sorry guys. Next time.

In all, it was a near perfect night. The only blemish on the proceedings was the “7 o’clock” doors (7:45ish) and the 9:15 start time. If only Starlite actually opened their doors when they said they would. Also, if only they weren’t still purporting that Ghost were to be playing the show. Junius were their replacements.

French vanguard Alcest, responsible for the influential Souvenirs d’un Autre Monde and its masterful follow-up Écailles De Lune, are set to tour North America once again beginning later this month. Opening as direct support for Enslaved, Alcest begin the 19-date trek on September 23rd in Springfield, Virginia and conclude it on October 14th in West Hollywood, California, extensively traveling through Canada in between. Ghost were originally slated to be among the tour package, but unfortunately had to drop off recently due to visa complications. Here are the confirmed dates/venues:

September 23 – Springfield, VA @ Jaxx
September 24 – Millvale, PA @ Mr. Small’s Theatre
September 25 – New York, NY @ Gramercy Theatre
September 26 – Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East
September 27 – Québec City, QC @ Impérial
September 29 – Montreal, QC @ Café Campus
September 30 – Toronto, ON @ The Opera House
October 1 – Columbus, OH @ Outland Live
October 2 – Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
October 3 – St. Paul, MN @ Station 4
October 5 – Winnipeg, MB @ WECC
October 6 – Regina, SK @ The Exchange
October 7 – Edmonton, AB @ The Starlite Room
October 8 – Calgary, AB @ Dickens
October 10 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
October 11 – Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
October 12 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
October 13 – San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s
October 14 – West Hollywood, CA @ Troubadour

As announced earlier, Alcest have revealed the title to their third album as Les voyages de l’âme (English: “The journeys of the soul“). The record is tentatively scheduled for early 2012 release through Prophecy Productions, with further release news to announced shortly. Alcest are widely credited with bringing in a dreamier, more shoegazing element into extreme metal the past few years, influencing many others to follow in their wake. Surely, Les voyages de l’âme will be yet another monumental release for the band, cemeting their modern legendry that much more.

Genre: Black Metal, Depressive Black Metal, Post Metal, Post Rock, Shoegaze
Labels: ATMF

The crushing beauty of shoegaze and post metal combined with the savagery of raw black metal make up the first track off of Everything, “Forever Never Fails”. It’s like a year of pure urgent emotion turned into a five minute and thirteen second long song. And it alone is worth the money for the album.

“Formlessness” comes next, with very My Bloody Valentine sounding music and Sargeist/Craft vocals. If this doesn’t get your heart moving, you’re probably dead. It differs from “Forever Never Fails” primarily in the bass work, lending it less of an urgency and more of a solemnity. Oddly enough, it is also exactly five minutes and thirteen seconds long.

“Absence of Contrast” contrasts nicely with “Formlessness”, it’s piano lines and bass setting off a nice throb to inhale opium to. “We All Fall” takes a more post rock feel despite the savagery of the vocals. Spoken words make an appearance as well, an interesting and nice change up. “Nothing/Everything” takes a more depressive black metal via shoegaze feel. The keyboard work here is exemplary, taking more of a lead then a coloring overlay.

“Her Dress as a Poem, Her Death as the Night” flows with a deep melancholy, deep bass carrying you through an ocean of keys with waves of guitar crushing you down, under. This is utter depression in musical form, and it’s beautiful and cathartic, another song worthy of being worth the album’s price. I just wish it was longer.

“I am the Veil” would feel like an indie rock song if it weren’t for the key drones in the back and the blackened vocals. The keys come forward as pianos and make it even less indie rock and more post metal/depressive black. “Cold Spring” is totally the opposite, going straight for post metal/shoegaze from the start, a heart stopping vocal performance that upon repeat listens continually drags you through varying emotional states.

Despite “Cold Spring” being a great song, the final track “Rain” trumps it easily, and is one of the best songs on the album. Guitar feedback and keyboards blend over a slower, higher pitched bass line, with sung vocals making a brief appearance. The song as a whole has a feeling of a triumphant ending, which it is for the album. Wonderful.

As a whole, Everything is a gorgeous album that takes the listener through many parts of the emotional spectrum. There is joy here, there is sadness, there is anger, and there is even love. But it all takes on a melancholic darkness that is hard to shake off after listening. I highly recommend getting this, especially if you’re a fan of My Bloody Valentine, Autumn’s Grey Solace, Jesu, Darkthrone, The Cure, or Cry.

10 out of 10.

An Autumn for Crippled Children on Facebook.

Genre: Shoegaze
Label: Projekt

Every so often I check out Projekt’s site and see what’s new and what’s coming up, as well as read the newsletters that Sam sends out pretty much weekly. And so when I found out that Autumn’s Grey Solace was going to be putting out a new album I was pretty stoked.
I first head AGS on a Projekt sampler way back like ten years ago or so and I fell in love. So did my wife. So when the video for “A Soul Ensnared” came out, I watched it, and got even more stoked. I ordered Eifelian shortly after, as well as a couple other CDs. Eifelian has been played over and over in the car, and I’ve come to not just enjoy it, but to outright love this album. It’s so full of emotion, taking me through a journey through happiness, sadness, and anticipation. Thankfully, it doesn’t enter pure depression territory, but even the best emotions are tinted with a fair amount of melancholy, in a way that only Autumn’s Grey Solace can perform.
The guitar is very chordal and heavy effected; leads that are a mile long, and so beautiful with a bass line that has a groove deep enough to lie down in; the drums are full of poppy toms and snare and cymbal crashes. Erin’s voice is used quite differently compared to many other shoegaze bands, being more of an instrument than a vocalization. Some songs it doesn’t seem she even sings lyrics at all. But when she does (“Halfway Underground”, “A Soul Ensnared”) it is just beautiful, and I like these songs a little more than the rest.
It’s probably not ‘essential’ for some, but for me, I’m in love. Eifelian takes a big win.
8 out of 10.

Autumn’s Grey Solace on Facebook.

Genre: Progressive Black Metal
Label: Debemur Morti

Blut Aus Nord, also known as France’s Darkthrone to some, are a fantastic band, and have been since their inception, and this re-release of their somewhat underrated 2001 album shows them at some of their most unsettling.
Odd riffs, fast drumming, and a very distinct lack of bass guitar tones (they’re really buried in there) gives the sound of very grim black metal, but it’s the avant-garde aspects of the band that are really starting to show their colors with this album, and even more so on the bonus disc.
The second CD is consisting of “The Fall: Chapter 7″ in three parts, and it’s at times extremely raw and violent black metal with parts very much an avant-garde shoegaze black metal (think of a more depressing and creepy Alcest or even Netra without the trip-hop). From what I gather, this second disc was recorded recently, for the re-release of The Mystical Beast of Rebellion, and it’s worth the price of the album alone.
If only more new black metal sounded this fresh and mind expanding.
8.5 out of 10.