Face Off 7: Alcest vs. Novembre

[BlueSky]

What. The. Fuck?

I prefer Novembre, by FAR.
Dream's d'Azur is amazing, and I really like Classica and Novembrine Waltz too.
I really dislike Materia and The Blue. Singer is kind of constantly whining throughout the songs.
Old songs like Swim Seagul in the Sky, Onirica East and The Music are masterpieces imo

Also, I don't really see how anyone could compare these bands, and I certainly wouldn't call Novembre the originator, and Alcest the imitator.
Very different in terms of riffing (especially older stuff), song structure, general atmosphere,etc

"What. The. Fuck?" My exact sentiments after reading your post.

They both use the EXACT same template for practically every song. Those arpeggiated crystal cleans/ extremely fizzy blanket of distortion over almost the entire song, and the occasional acoustics. How exactly is the majority of the riffing different? Atmosphere is quite subjective, but they both have a hypnotic dreamlike quality that conjures up thoughts of water. If I have to explain the the vocal similarities then there's no hope. I have little doubt Novembre has made a huge impact on Neige. I've seen plenty of reviewers notice, and make the comparison so I'm certainly not the only one who hears the obvious.

 

[Cerulean]

Great for you.

 

[requiem]

Novembre. 'Novembrine Waltz' is one of the all time great albums.

 

[Cerulean]

"What. The. Fuck?" My exact sentiments after reading your post.

They both use the EXACT same template for practically every song. Those arpeggiated crystal cleans/ extremely fizzy blanket of distortion over almost the entire song, and the occasional acoustics. How exactly is the majority of the riffing different? Atmosphere is quite subjective, but they both have a hypnotic dreamlike quality that conjures up thoughts of water. If I have to explain the the vocal similarities then there's no hope. I have little doubt Novembre has made a huge impact on Neige. I've seen plenty of reviewers notice, and make the comparison so I'm certainly not the only one who hears the obvious.

Notice how I said "especially the older stuff", the riffing was really quite different back then.
Maybe Materia and The Blue can be compared to Alcest, but those are too recent to have influenced Neige to the extent that you imply, I think.

 

[BlueSky]

I don't see why not when looking at the timeline, and direction of Alcest.

 

[discouraged1]

i remember novembrine waltz was a great album.

as far as i know, novembre were infuenced by opeth, katatonia and anathema pretty much back in the day.

alcest is more of an agalloch type of band, not novembre.

 

[BlueSky]

as far as i know, novembre were infuenced by opeth, katatonia and anathema pretty much back in the day.

alcest is more of an agalloch type of band, not novembre.

Dunno bout that, but every band has their own influences.

Agalloch is similar, but certainly not more so than Novembre. Neige's vocal lines sound as close as you're ever going to get to Carmelo. I'd make a wager that if you mixed any track off Écailles de Lune with Materia or The Blue, and showed it to someone who hadn't heard either band, they wouldn't notice.

 

[Sdob]

"What. The. Fuck?" My exact sentiments after reading your post.

They both use the EXACT same template for practically every song. Those arpeggiated crystal cleans/ extremely fizzy blanket of distortion over almost the entire song, and the occasional acoustics. How exactly is the majority of the riffing different? Atmosphere is quite subjective, but they both have a hypnotic dreamlike quality that conjures up thoughts of water. If I have to explain the the vocal similarities then there's no hope. I have little doubt Novembre has made a huge impact on Neige. I've seen plenty of reviewers notice, and make the comparison so I'm certainly not the only one who hears the obvious.

Music doesn't have templates dude, it's not like a fucking word document.
That said, Novembre's influence is definitely heard in Alcest's music (most noticeable 2010's release). Alcest adds more folk influence in his music though. Especially on Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde.

 

[nimicitor]

Novembre even though they seem to have disappeared from the face of the planet.

 

[KittyKatatonia]

I went with Alcest, who I think write better songs overall than Novembre. Still, both bands are great.

 

[IntoPhagist]

Who the hell voted for Alcest? Novembre are classic.

 

[Wildhoney]

Thought I appreciate Alcest, I think any of his records impressed me so much as Novembre does with any album released so far, the debut album and the following 'Arte novecento' especially.
Surely Alcest has been influenced by Novembre - and Niege even looks like a lil' bit to Carmelo, bcs of his clean / screaming vox, but even from the physical point o' view, in my opinion - and remember that Novembre started about 20 years ago...

Can't wait to get another memorable record from Novembre.

 

[nymphx]

I dont really think this should be a competition, But i'm going for Alcest anyhow.
Alcest has a whole different vibe than Novembre

 

[BlueSky]

Mega deaf.

http://www.google.com/search?source...rfai=C56eww8sgTJKDLpaWMf_rnOQNAAAAqgQFT9DwqoA

"Novembre from the awesome "The Blue" (decidedly the strongest influence on the album)"

"Mood is very similar to stuff by Novembre"

"It's reminding me a lot of The Blue by Novembre"

 

[Cerulean]

Mega opinions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion

Although I can somewhat see how Alcest is somewhat similar to The Blue.
I only listen to Dreams d'Azur, Classica and Novembrine Waltz anyway

 

[LifeDepraved]

Slowdive.

 

[FlawedCoil82]

It's really unfortunate that this Alcest band doesn't sing in english. I am really enjoying their sound otherwise. I also seem to prefer the Alcest vocalist over Novembre's vocalist as well.

 

[Lateralus14]

I don't see how that's unfortunate.

 

[LifeDepraved]

I rather listen to a band in their native tongue, than listen to a bunch of jumbled English that doesn't make sense.

 

[FlawedCoil82]

I like to be able to sing along and understand what the vocalist is saying.