When one thinks of the black metal genre, the first things that may come to mind are heavy distortion, low, slow riffs, and dark and moody imagery. This is certainly not the case with Alcest. With songs inspired by nature, healing from sadness, and fairy realms, this French band is coined as the pioneers of blackgaze. When it was announced they were doing a US and Canada tour for the first time since 2018, bringing along Icelandic goth/dark-wave band Kaelan Mikla and atmospheric post-rock masters MONO from Japan, photographer Kyle and I knew we had to tag team and experience it for ourselves. What we captured was pure magic at The Majestic in Detroit, MI on March 19, 2025.
Kaelan Mikla opened the evening with some synth-heavy, pure goth goodness. I went into their set without having heard them previously, and I admit, these three women dressed in black with tear-stained faces created a beautiful, mesmerizing atmosphere both audibly and visually. Their music feels like raindrops on a windowpane while longing for something you can’t quite reach. Gloomy with just a breath of hope.
They evoke so much emotion as they play, especially the captivating dancing from lead vocalist Laufey Soffía. She swayed and moved with the nostalgic and dreamy analogue synths, drum machine, and post-punk basslines and even dropped to the stage floor as a way to tell their song stories. I didn’t have to know a word of Icelandic to be enthralled by their set and the mesmerizing melodies made it make sense on why a dark/cold-wave band would be opening for a blackgaze band.
Kaelan Mikla
Photo Credit: Kyle Finlan
Next was MONO. It was quite a shift to the more understated full instrumental quartet. Their set was all about the soundscapes; painting stories with sound with their impeccable dynamic contrast throughout every track. I enjoyed seeing the various instruments and the alternate ways they played them. The bassist Tamaki Kunishi also played keys and bells during the set, and the drummer Dahm Majuri Cipolla would play the drums with mallets instead of drumsticks in some songs, along with adding a gong for the contrast of sound; even the guitarist used a drumstick-like a bow on his guitar in one song.
Not to mention, the way the lighting changed with every song made the set all the more hypnotic. I’ve never seen lighting combinations on a stage like the ones they used in the song “We All Shine On” in shades of peach and purple or yellow and gold sunburst style lighting in their opening song “Run On.” A beautiful set in all aspects.
MONO
Photo Credit: Kyle Finlan
At last, it was time for Alcest. Their stage featured dried flowers in square planters around the stage, and in the middle behind them, as a backdrop, was a full moonlight with two wooden cranes before it. I immediately loved how crane silhouettes looked before the moon when all the other lights were down.
They also used different colors of light to make the moon glow in assorted colors like red, gold, and even a sage green throughout the set to add to the mood. They also used the stage lighting in wonderful ways; like their opening track “Komorebi” had such a vibrant gold light paired with just the right amount of fog to make it look like golden hour just before sunset. One of my favorite songs, “Sapphire,” surely enough, bathed the stage with a deep sapphire purple-blue.
Their stage presence was as reflective and comforting as the music they were playing. Just like the bands before them, you don’t need to speak the language to feel what they evoke in their music. There is such a soothing whimsy to Alcest’s music; the fact we were seeing them the night before the first day of spring felt so fitting like we were welcoming growth and the earth blooming again with them.
Alcest has a gift of capturing a whimsical faraway land while still feeling like they belong in this world. Their live show takes you to this dreamy world with them and gives you a tour, showing every dark valley and vibrant vista with their fluttery melodies and distorted riffs. By the end of the set, you, too, feel like you belong to this beautiful place. It’s a reminder of just how magical live music is; all it takes is to watch and listen, and you can be swept away, even if it’s just for a little while.
Alcest
Photo Credit: Kyle Finlan
