It’s a veritable French take over this year. All we needed was godfathers of French metal Gojira to release something (sadly they didn’t). Alcest have been making stunning introspective and ethereal records for years. They created Blackgaze (Black metal and shoegaze) and then left others to make it a household name. Instead they moved in a more post-black direction. Creating sonic walls of complex swirling sound that plunge the listener done a rabbit hole of contrasting tempos. This isn’t just quiet quiet loud loud quiet quiet. That is far too simple. This is intricate layers of velocity and furiousity. The two dance around each over as the tracks build and build and then step back and then build again. It is just utterly stunning.