Agalloch – Ashes Against The Grain
# Limbs
# Falling Snow
# This White Mountain On Which You Will Die
# Fire Above, Ice Below
# Not Unlike The Waves
# Our Fortress Is Burning I
# Our Fortress Is Burning II: Bloodbirds
# Our Fortress Is Burning III: The Grain
Agalloch’s first full studio release in four years finds the group continuing along the path of progressive neo-pagan folk extreme doom metal with a hefty does of industrial drone tossed in for good measure. Me not being a fan of industrialized drone, I could live without the last seven-minute long track of said styling (appropriately and literally the “grain” that the album speaks of), but other than that, I’ve got no complaints. I’ve been following the band since ’99, so it’s always nice to sit down with one of their records and absorb all of the raw emotion and gloomy atmosphere. Back when I first heard the group, I described their sound as “epic claustrophobia,” a tag I still think fits their sound on “Ashes Against the Grain.” Pummeling, straight-ahead percussion is layered with slashing electric guitar riffs and introspective acoustics (guitars and keys). Dry black metal rasps (not the best in the business, but serviceable) intermix with entrancing clean vocals to create an oppressive and depressive sound. I particularly like when they place the extreme vox beneath the clean to create a harmonious dichotomy (how’s that for an oxymoron?). Melody lines, often doubled or tripled on guitars, supply a spidery network of support that make the compositions all the more alluring.
There are eight tracks in total, the vast majority clocking in at over seven minutes in length. The album is just about an hour long, so needless to say, Agalloch do not create Neanderthal-styled metal anthems; their music falls into the navel-gazing, face-clawing vein, and it usually succeeds in puncturing the listener’s jugular. Compositions are circular and repetitive like most doom, but the care taken to continuously add points of sonic interest keeps the songs moving ever forward (into termination). Production and mix are spot on, with just the right amount of reverb to add a dolorous ambience.
Agalloch’s music sounds like the soundtrack to the annihilation of nature all the while unleashing the essence of its virile ferocity. This release (and all of their previous work) is highly recommended to pagan folk metal and doom metal fans. If you haven’t heard them before, “Ashes Against the Grain” is as good a place to fall into their web as any. Long time fans are sure to be pleased with this latest chapter. In short, another successful endeavor from the lads, even taking that damned drone stuff into consideration (Hell, maybe they’ll convert me to enjoying the style if I keep spinning this – and I’m sure that I will). (Deadtide)
The End has been relatively quiet in 2006 thus far, but with August and beyond unveiling amazing releases like Agalloch, Unexpect, Giant Squid, Virgin Black and Stolen Babies albums, The End looks to again to back on track and dominate year end lists with their brand of superbly unclassifiable music. Starting with Agalloch’s third masterpiece, Ashes Against the Grain.
Agalloch’s form of bleak, melancholic doomy black/folk metal should need no introduction, despite their less than prolific discography, as ‘quality over quantity’ is the epitome of Agalloch’s offerings. However, if you not have heard the band for a while, the folk element is certainly lessened and more engrained in the music’s mood rather than instrumentation.
To me, Ashes Against the Grain while I hear some early Ulver, Opeth, Primordial and Katatonia, , has something in common with Daylight Dies’ Dismantling Devotion, not only for being a stunning example of depressive beauty, but also being a truly stellar, American example of a genre and skillset long dominated by the Europeans. I also don’t think it’s a reach that the long awaited follow up to The Mantle (which I never truly appreciated and need to revisit), shares some traits with the light/dark hues and builds of Neurosis, but on a more organic, intrinsically despairing and black level.
To be quite honest, some of the builds, ebbs and flows contained on Ashes Against the Grain are some of the most evocative metal moments I’ve heard in a long time, at least since Dismantling Devotion if not before. Opener “Limbs” is the perfect mood setter, while “Falling Snow” has me on the verge of tears with is elegantly somber opening strains. “Fire Above, Ice Below” is arguably the album’s tour de force, with its to die for acoustic mid section and compelling, draining climax. “Not Unlike the Waves”, also a standout, delivers the album’s most urgent and ‘metal’ riffage with a almost Viking, epic opening riff and hypnotic vocals that’s simply breathtaking. The final, mostly instrumental closing trilogy of “Our Fortress is Burning I-III” fleshes out the albums brilliance with the expected moody opener, the God Speed You! Black Emperor strumming build of part II “Bloodbirds” and the slightly out of place programmed closer “The Grain”.
John Haughm’s rasp and clean vocals are more palatable to me than they were on The Mantle, but truthfully, vocals are a secondary element on this release, as a lot of the music is largely instrumental, almost used as a side garnish to the vibrantly melancholy atmospheres. The production seems fuller and more lush than The Mantle, as whereas The Mantle’s production suited its grey lifeless cover, the production for Ashes Against the Grain suits its lush, gold and brown, warmer hues.
Quite frankly, I think Ashes Against the Grain is the Dark Side of the Moon of American underground music and should be revered as such. (Digitalmetal)
Agalloch online: Homepage / Myspace / Last.fm
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http://www.alexandra.hu
Ez az album 2006-ben került az alábbi Alexandra-boltokba.
ABcD, 7621 Pécs, Széchenyi tér 1.
Gyor Plaza, 9024 Gyor, Vasvári P. u. 1/a.
Debrecen Plaza, 4026 Debrecen, Péterfia u. 1.
Miskolc Plaza, 3225 Miskolc, Szentpáli u. 2-6.
Szeged Plaza, 6724 Szeged, Kossuth L. sugárút 119.
Kaposvár Plaza, 7400 Kaposvár, Berzsenyi D. u. 1-3.
Csaba Center, 5600 Békéscsaba, Andrássy út 37-43.
Sopron Plaza MKK, 9400 Sopron, Lackner K. u. 35.
Nyugati tér, 1055 Budapest, Nyugati tér 7.
Malom Center, 6000 Kecskemét, Korona u. 2.
Még kapható néhány példány.
Also available at http://www.lethalconflict.com mailorder (online CD bolt)
Tags: 2006, agalloch, Alexandra, Alexandra bolt, Andrássy út, Ashes Against The Grain, deadtide.com, digitalmetal.com, Grau, Lethal Music Zone, Még kapható néhány példány, Our Fortress Is Burning, sugárút, Szeged Plaza, Szentpáli u
