Agalloch - Ashes Against the Grain (2006)
©The End Records
U.S.A.
Tracklist:
- Limbs (9:50)
- Falling Snow (9:38)
- This White Mountain on Which You Will Die (1:39)
- Fire Above, Ice Below (10:28)
- Not Unlike the Waves (9:15)
- Our Fortress is Burning... I (5:25)
- Our Fortress is Burning... II - Bloodbirds (6:20)
- Our Fortress is Burning... III - The Grain (7:09)
- Scars of the Shattered Sky (Our Fortress Has Burned to the Ground) [Bonus] (19:38)
Agalloch is a Neofolk/black and doom metal band from Portland, Oregon, which was originally a one man band formed by lead vocalist and guitarist John Haughm. This album "Ashes Against The Grain" has a lot of instrumentalism to it. The lyrics are very scarce and show up the majority of times towards the end or middle of the songs played. Agalloch plays one of my favorite types of black metal because they don't necesarilly use an odd and heavy/thick sound to their style, like Gorgoroth (for example). Their music is bearable and pleasurable to listen to and the listeners can definitely comprehend the words being sung.
"Ashes Against the Grain", to some, may sound a little depressing, however the flow of the album's tracks are very interesting and calming, for those who don’t really enjoy the vocals and just admire more the instrumental tone to it, it's easy to remove the lyrics that you hear in your head and just appreciate the album's beautiful instrumentals.
The album has a very clear sound to it, production-wise and in some ways, each track accompanies themself with the rest of the songs on the album as each songs seems to resemble each other without sounding alike or repetitious. In some aspects, Agalloch sort of sounds like Alcest, however, with a more heavy taste to it, still keeping the same concept of the melodic tone to it. "Ashes Against the Grain", for the majority incorporates long songs with the longest one (excluding the limited edition bonus track) being "Fire Above, Ice Below" clocking in at 10 minutes and 28 seconds.
-Sabrina
