The Vision Bleak is a German gothic metal duo comprising Ulf Theodor Schwadorf and Allen B. Konstanz. The group's lyrics are noted for their horror themes and heavily allude to works of classic writers/filmmakers of the genre, such as H. P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, George A. Romero and John Carpenter, among others. They self-describe their musical style, which mixes gothic metal, doom metal, symphonic metal and horror punk aesthetics, as "horror metal".
The Wombats are an English indie rock band formed in Liverpool in 2003. Since its inception, the band's line-up has consisted of Matthew Murphy, Tord Øverland Knudsen, and Dan Haggis. The band is signed to 14th Floor Records and Bright Antenna. They have sold over 1 million albums worldwide.
Alcest is a French post-black metal band from Bagnols-sur-Cèze, founded and led by Neige. It began in 2000 as a black metal solo project by Neige, soon a trio, but following the release of their first demo in 2001, band members Aegnor and Argoth left the band, leaving Neige as the sole member. In 2009 drummer Winterhalter from Les Discrets joined Alcest's line-up, after eight years with Neige as the sole full-time member. Since its creation, Alcest has released six studio albums and a number of EPs and split releases. Their fourth album, 2014's Shelter, marked a dramatic shift towards a distinctly shoegaze sound, however their subsequent album Kodama marked a return to their earlier blackgaze sound. The band are widely credited with pioneering the blackgaze/post-black metal genre, particularly through their EP Le Secret released in 2005.
Souvenirs d'un autre monde is the first full-length album by French band Alcest, released in August 2007. The title refers to the meaning behind the music of Alcest, as its leader and songwriter, Neige, sees it as a journey through his memories of a distant world he has been in contact with.
Peste Noire are a French black metal band from La Chaise-Dieu, France. The band was formed by "La sale Famine de Valfunde", also known simply as "Famine", in 2000. Their music uses standard black metal elements mixed with traditional Gallic instrumentation, and influences from genres like punk and electronic music. The band is sometimes referred to as P.N. or K.P.N.
Amesoeurs was a French post-punk/post-black metal band. A side project of Neige of Alcest, the group was formed in the summer of 2004 in Bagnols-sur-Cèze with the purpose of creating music that "reflects the dark side of the industrial era and modern civilization".
Écailles de lune is the second studio album by French blackgaze band Alcest, released on March 26, 2010 by Prophecy Productions. It is the first Alcest album featuring Winterhalter on drums. Although it continues in the direction started with the first album Souvenirs d'un autre monde, Écailles de lune marks a darker, louder transition into shoegazing, while also coming back to the band's black metal origins as it features harsh vocals like those found on their second release Le Secret.
Amesoeurs is the only full-length album by Amesoeurs. It was released in 2009, just before the band broke up. Northern Silence Productions released a special limited LP edition of the album in three different versions: the "Metallic Century" edition, limited to 333 copies, the "Cold Light" edition limited to 333 copies, and the "Night Sky" edition limited to 222 copies, which all come with an exclusive bonus track "Gas in Veins - demo version".
Les Discrets is a French post-rock project created and led by Fursy Teyssier as a "platform gathering music and art." Teyssier was the sole member of the band until 2009, when he was joined by Audrey Hadorn and Winterhalter. Les Discrets have released two shoegazing/post-metal/post-rock studio albums, Septembre et Ses Dernières Pensées in March 2010, Ariettes oubliées... in February 2012. After Winterhalter left the band in 2013, the band's third album, Prédateurs, released in April 2017, saw a transition towards an indie rock and trip hop-oriented sound.
Audrey Sylvain (born 26 June 1984) is a French singer and dancer, originally from Avignon. Her first band was Amesoeurs. She also sang on Alcest's debut album. She was a full-time member in Peste Noire until her departure in 2016. In 2019 Audrey Sylvain released Incandescente — the debut EP of her solo project Malenuit.
Handful of Stars is the eighth full-length album by Ukrainian black metal band Drudkh, released in 2010 on Season of Mist's Underground Activists label.
Septembre et Ses Dernières Pensées is the debut album from French band Les Discrets. It was released on 26 March 2010 through Prophecy Productions.
Alcest / Les Discrets is a split EP by French shoegazing bands Alcest and Les Discrets, released on November 30, 2009 by Prophecy Productions.
Ariettes oubliées... is the second full-length album by Les Discrets, released in 2012 by Prophecy Productions. "Ariettes oubliées... I: Je Devine à travers un murmure..." was released as a music video directed by Audrey Hadorn.
Les Discrets/Arctic Plateau is a split record by les Discrets and Arctic Plateau released in 2011, giving an insight in the artists upcoming releases, Ariettes oubliées... and The Enemy Inside respectively. The artwork was done by Les Discrets' Fursy Teyssier. Arctic Plateau's part also features the demos that led to their contract with Prophecy Records in 2008. "The Persuaders Theme" is a cover of the theme melody for the 1971 TV series the Persuaders!
Stéphane Paut, known professionally as Neige, is a French songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist musician, and record producer from Bagnols-sur-Cèze, now relocated to Paris. He is the founder of the black metal/shoegaze project Alcest and also the founder for the now-defunct Amesoeurs.
Fursy Teyssier is a French songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist musician, album cover artist and animated film director. He is most known for being the creator, leader, guitarist, bass guitarist and lead vocalist of shoegazing band Les Discrets. He is currently live bass guitarist for Empyrium. He is also the former guitarist and bass guitarist of Amesoeurs, and the former live bassist of Alcest. Since 27 December 2015 he is a live member of German gothic metal band The Vision Bleak; he previously directed the music video for their song "The Wood Hag".
Blackgaze is a fusion genre combining elements of black metal and shoegaze. The word is a blend of the names of the two genres, described by The Guardian as "the buzz term for a new school of bands taking black metal out of the shadows and melding its blast beats, dungeon wailing and razorwire guitars with the more reflective melodies of post-rock, shoegaze and post-hardcore." According to Exclaim!, blackgaze "marries the harsh, alien instrumentation of black metal with the mellower, dreamy soundscapes of shoegaze."
Witching Hour is the fifth studio album by German gothic metal band The Vision Bleak, released on 27 September 2013 through Prophecy Productions. It is a concept album based on popular fictional witches. A digipak version containing a bonus track, as well as a deluxe edition featuring three bonus tracks, were also released.
Prédateurs (transl. Predators) is the third full-length album by French band Les Discrets, released on April 21, 2017 by Prophecy Productions. It is their first album without drummer Winterhalter, who left in 2013 to focus on his other band, Alcest, and therefore their first as a duo.
