Agalloch

A mix of the heavier stuff (Marrow) and the old stuff (Mantle, White), with a lot of acoustic/instrumental interludes. A good surprise.

I've completely overlooked this album when I discovered the band, probably because I started with Dead Winter Days and hated the harsh vocals. But the rest of this album is marvelous, and I'm glad I fixed the mistake...

I sense that a lot of people will love this album and a lot will hate it. So is it a good or a bad album? Probably neither...

If you like extreme metal, you will love this album. The clean vocals are gone, replaced by shrieks, gurgles and (sometimes) whispers. A new drummer has been added to the band, giving a much heavier sound. The black metal elements are back in force, acoustic guitars are almost gone, as well as the melodic parts.

The big problem here is the overall sound. Most of the songs here sound like unfinished versions of actual songs, and worse than that, unfinished versions of old songs. It's really like listening to their first demo...

There are still good moments, but they are diluted in the background noise, distorted guitars, harsh vocals, blastbeats...

I don't really know what to think of this album... the band continues on the same post metal sound, this time less bleak and repetitive than on The Mantle, and the music is really good here... but unfortunately the vocals are horrible. There are less clean vocals, and when the singer uses harsh vocals (that is on every track except the three instrumentals), it's unfortunately some really ugly gurgling voice...

A beautiful album from start to finish, with my only issue being my tendency to skip A Desolation Song, which is a bit too folky for me at times. Regardless, the rest of the album definately makes up for it.

This is a wonderful album. Dark, relaxing, poetic, full of folkish influences... very fascinating. It would have been a masterpiece but unfortunately the (harsh, black metal-like) vocals are not of the same quality as the music and they often feel out of place.

The crowning achievement of Agalloch's career.

I must admit that at one point I disliked or, to say it more precisely, didn't understand Agalloch 's music. The musicianship seemed primitive to me and I found the songwriting lazy. Still, during those times I could feel that this is music that requires a certain approach, or perhaps I was into different aesthetics at the time and it wouldn't impress me. My respect for the four musicians of this extraordinary group appeared when I re-listened to Pale Folklore in summer, of all seasons. Was it the perfect time to listen to that specific album or had it just grown on me and clicked just then I can not say, but the fact is that the group's not so immense catalogue took an important place in my music diet. Their last album - The Mantle - was released in 2001, which was a long time ago, and it was intimidating that everyone would have to wait five years until the next offering of the quartet.

I always suspected that the spontaneousness of Agalloch 's music could be explained by a belonging, conceptually, to a specific season and its typical signs. However, after first 'getting' the music I noticed that this is the music that I would feel comfortable while listening to during any time of the year - it seemed very appropriate and even timeless. When I had the luck to get a copy of the new album, there was a happy coincidence that I was in a forest remote from my native city, which made the listening experience even more engaging and intimate than it could have been otherwise.

Well, the grim landscape painters are back and on Ashes Against The Grain the four musicians/magicians of ... -> show full review

A decent album, although I must admit that I don't understand how others can think of it as a masterpiece, I do understand how someone could like this album much more than I do. It's really repetitive, mostly "eventless" and the occasional growling vocals are uncalled for in my opinion. The folk elements are implemented very nicely, but in the heavy parts the drums are often a bit out of sync with the rest of the band.

Agalloch's first full-length album Pale Folklore , often underlooked even by the band's most hardcore followers, is more than just an outstanding debut. Utilizing influences from various sources, from 80's Gothic Rock to Ethnic Folk music, from Italian 70's Symphonic Prog to Norwegian 90's Black Metal's scene, and much much more, Agalloch managed to create a unique, extraordinary style of their own, achieving something nobody had achieved before. Opeth are famous(well, in our circles anyway)for combining two parts - mellow and heavy - to create a very special sound. Agalloch , whose influences were as diverse as Opeth's , from the fusion of all elements gained one sound that is very easy to recognise if you have experienced this amazing band.

The album starts with the atmospheric She Painted Fire Across The Skyline , consisting of three parts. The first part starts out slow and maybe a little repetitive, but sets the vibe of the album very well. Although Pale Folklore is more often dynamic, the mood of the album is melancholic from the beginning until the end. The melodic riff that starts at about 3:00 gives me chills everytime I hear it, it is also done again in the end of the third part of the epic track. I'm not sure which part is my favourite: I would tell this about the third part, but, unfotunately, it is ruined by the spoken vocals just before the 1:00 mark, which sounds out of place and, fortunately, is the only thing you can blame this masterpiece for, which doesn't make it any worse than it is, really. The forth track is an instrumental, in fact the only one on this record, and doesn't follow the pace of the whole work - it is gentle and nice, with piano's and flutes, a very sad instrumental indeed. I'm not ... -> show full review