Alcest's dreamy, shoegaze-tinged black metal takes it's next step forward on the first Spiritual Instinct single, "Protection." Watch the music video for the new song below.

Spiritual Instinct marks the sixth album from the French duo and their first on Nuclear Blast Records, set for an Oct. 25 release. After taking the plunge into pure shoegaze on 2014's Shelter, Alcest returned to their roots a bit with Kodama, which was issued two years later. Here, on "Protection," they're riffier than ever as they take yet another bold musical stride.

"'Protection' is the first track I wrote for Spiritual Instinct. It’s probably one of our most heavy, spontaneous songs. It is about inner conflict, the tension between the spiritual and darker sides of a person, facing your own anguishes in order to embrace them and then fight them. Like the other tracks on the album, writing it was a very cathartic, healing process for me," described frontman Neige.

"The recording of Spiritual Instinct has been a long and challenging process, but we feel really proud of it and can't wait to share our new music with all of you," Neige said of the band's next step. "The artwork has been made by the Parisian duo Førtifem and represents a sphinx, as a reference to the symbolism art movement," he continued. "The sphinx is the ultimate figure of the enigma, which embodies both the spiritual and feral sides inside us."

Pre-order Alcest's Spiritual Instinct here. View the album art and track listing beneath the music video.

Alcest, "Protection" Music Video

Alcest, Spiritual Instinct Album Art + Track Listing

Nuclear Blast

1. "Les jardins de minuit"

2. "Protection"

3. "Sapphire"

4. "L’île des morts"

5. "Le miroir"

6. "Spiritual Instinct"