December already and still two more reviews of fantastic late releases to do.....

First up it Alcest with their new album called Kodama. It's really impossible to review an Alcest album as they sound like nothing else - a heady mix of post rock, prog, shoegazing, black metal and whatever else you want to throw in

Where this differs slightly from the previous release Shelter is they've rediscovered their black metal roots and woven them back into the sound, something that Shelter lacked. Examples are the screaming vocals on the second track Eclosion which are a bit of shock after it starts like a beefed up Coldplay style chart anthem and the drumming in the central part of Oiseaux de proie is as brutal as any white faced church burning Scandinavian can manage

The vocals still seem to convey some idea of hope and belief though as they are still in French the subject matter may not be that cheerful but it's that glorious indescribable musical noise they make which is heart of the appeal

This release ranks up there with their masterpiece of Les voyages de l'âme from 2012 and is surely one of the albums of the year