It’s been ten years since the release date of this dreamlike flow set to music, a record that turned all the tables, one of the favourite records of many, such as Pitchfork who included it in their list of the best shoegaze records ever. Originally Souvenirs d’un autre monde was supposed to be a short-lived solo project by Neige, guitarist of Peste Noire and Forgotten Woods, but this record changed everything, and now Alcest is an established name in metal other. This work reworked in a very personal way sounds that until then had only been encountered sporadically, such as post black metal, which is a development of black metal, an exploitation of some of its characteristics to bring forward music with a broader scope. Shoegaze is a great protagonist of this record, that wall of sound that brings our subconscious to the surface and that here marries very well with black metal outbursts. Neige’s voice is a dream within a dream, as if someone were speaking in our ear while we were asleep. As in the greatest works of the arts, there is a reversal between reality and dream, the planes are turned upside down and we are captured by another dimension, in which pain and joy are pure and a sense of lightness permeates everything. The imagery of this record is strongly French, in fact the dear meanings are occult and the songs are short novels of things that are very much felt in the hexagon. As a reissue there will be various surprises for both the cd and vinyl editions, such as the original cover of the first pressing on lp, an anniversary booklet, previously unreleased photos, comments by Andy Julia, the photographer who is practically a member of the band, and Aaron Weaver of Wolves In The Throne Room to testify to the enormous influence of this record. Above all, there will be this masterpiece that makes us become children again, a profoundly different and almost perfect record, capable of unleashing storms of emotion, and which only asks us to take off our ballasts and close our eyes, because this work is really what the title says, memories of another world, and the record is the folkloric narration of this world within us. (M.Argo – MetalEyes 18/9/2017)
2007 – Prophecy Productions / Profound Lore Records / Quince Records / Beneath Grey Skies 2008 – Hyperrealist 2012/2013/2016/201//2021 – Prophecy Productions
Mournful Sounds 
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