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Alcest

France · formed 2000 · last active 2025

Alcest is a French band formed in 2000 in Bagnols-sur-Cèze by multi-instrumentalist Neige (Stéphane Paut), initially as a solo black metal project. Widely credited with pioneering blackgaze and post-black metal, the band pairs black metal's tremolo and blast-beats with the shimmering, ethereal textures of shoegaze and dream pop to evoke Neige's recurring theme of a luminous 'other world.' Since 2009 Alcest has been a duo of Neige and drummer Winterhalter, releasing albums such as Souvenirs d'un autre monde (2007), Les Voyages de l'âme (2012) and Kodama (2016) on Prophecy Productions before moving to Nuclear Blast.

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SCORE PROFILE

JazzyBalkanHardcoreSurfBarbershopDeathBlackTechnicalGlitchTheatricalFolkDoomDroneShoegazeAmbient8-bit
Jazzy0
Balkan0
Hardcore1
Surf0
Barbershop0
Death0
Black4
Technical4
Glitch1
Theatrical1
Folk2
Doom1
Drone1
Shoegaze8
Ambient5
8-bit0

Accent numbers counted towards the index. Hover an axis — or hold it on a phone — for what it means.

MEMBERS

  • Neigevocals, guitars, bass, keyboards
  • Winterhalterdrums, percussion
  • Zeroguitar, backing vocals (live)
  • Indria Saraybass (live)

CONNECTIONS

collaboration
  • Deafheavenpath →

    Deafheaven met and became friends with Alcest when they toured together in March 2012 — not the 'US co-headlining tour' this edge previously claimed, which the album's own current text no longer supports. Stéphane 'Neige' Paut of Alcest later contributed a spoken-word reading of a passage from Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being on Deafheaven's Sunbather track 'Please Remember' (2013). source ↗

tour
  • Mamifferpath →

    Mamiffer co-headlined a September/October 2013 North America tour with Alcest and Anathema (Anathema off-atlas). source ↗

artwork · 12
  • Blut aus Nordpath →

    Both bands' cover art/design work was done by Metastazis (Valnoir's Paris design studio, Discogs artist id 1844235): Blut aus Nord's "777 - Cosmosophy" (2012, Artwork) and Alcest's "Écailles De Lune" (2010, Layout). Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Metastazis is not an atlas band so there is no anchor band. source ↗

  • Carnival in Coalpath →

    Both bands' cover art/design work was done by Metastazis (Valnoir's Paris design studio, Discogs artist id 1844235): Alcest's "Écailles De Lune" (2010, Layout) and Carnival in Coal's "Collection Prestige" (2005, Photography By [Pictures]). Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Metastazis is not an atlas band so there is no anchor band. source ↗

  • Igorrrpath →

    Both bands' cover art/design work was done by Metastazis (Valnoir's Paris design studio, Discogs artist id 1844235): Igorrr's "Savage Sinusoid" (2017, Artwork) and Alcest's "Écailles De Lune" (2010, Layout). Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Metastazis is not an atlas band so there is no anchor band. source ↗

  • Kostnatěnípath →

    Both bands' cover art/design work was done by Metastazis (Valnoir's Paris design studio, Discogs artist id 1844235): Kostnatění's "Přílišnost (Excess)" (2025, Cover, Design) and Alcest's "Écailles De Lune" (2010, Layout). Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Metastazis is not an atlas band so there is no anchor band. source ↗

  • Lychgatepath →

    Both bands' cover art/design work was done by Metastazis (Valnoir's Paris design studio, Discogs artist id 1844235): Alcest's "Écailles De Lune" (2010, Layout) and Lychgate's "Precipice" (2025, Design [Wheel Symbol By]). Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Metastazis is not an atlas band so there is no anchor band. source ↗

  • Nightmarersatellitepath →

    Both bands' cover art/design work was done by Metastazis (Valnoir's Paris design studio, Discogs artist id 1844235): Nightmarer's "Cacophony of Terror" (2018, Artwork, Layout) and Alcest's "Écailles De Lune" (2010, Layout). Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Metastazis is not an atlas band so there is no anchor band. source ↗

  • Porta Nigrapath →

    Both bands' cover art/design work was done by Metastazis (Valnoir's Paris design studio, Discogs artist id 1844235): Porta Nigra's "Kaiserschnitt" (2015, Artwork [Cover Artwork]) and Alcest's "Écailles De Lune" (2010, Layout). Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Metastazis is not an atlas band so there is no anchor band. source ↗

  • Schammaschpath →

    Both bands' cover art/design work was done by Metastazis (Valnoir's Paris design studio, Discogs artist id 1844235): Schammasch's "Sic Lvceat Lvx" (2015, Cover, Artwork) and Alcest's "Écailles De Lune" (2010, Layout). Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Metastazis is not an atlas band so there is no anchor band. source ↗

  • The Bodypath →

    Both bands' cover art/design work was done by Metastazis (Valnoir's Paris design studio, Discogs artist id 1844235): The Body's "xoroAHbin" (2015, Artwork) and Alcest's "Écailles De Lune" (2010, Layout). Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Metastazis is not an atlas band so there is no anchor band. source ↗

  • Ulver (electronic era)path →

    Both bands' cover art/design work was done by Metastazis (Valnoir's Paris design studio, Discogs artist id 1844235): Ulver (electronic era)'s "The Norwegian National Opera" (2011, Design) and Alcest's "Écailles De Lune" (2010, Layout). Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Metastazis is not an atlas band so there is no anchor band. source ↗

  • Vampilliapath →

    Both bands' cover art/design work was done by Metastazis (Valnoir's Paris design studio, Discogs artist id 1844235): Vampillia's "xoroAHbin" (2015, Artwork) and Alcest's "Écailles De Lune" (2010, Layout). Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Metastazis is not an atlas band so there is no anchor band. source ↗

  • Wormfoodpath →

    Both bands' cover art/design work was done by Metastazis (Valnoir's Paris design studio, Discogs artist id 1844235): Wormfood's "France" (2005, Artwork) and Alcest's "Écailles De Lune" (2010, Layout). Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Metastazis is not an atlas band so there is no anchor band. source ↗

label · 20
1 split release →

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