UMUR "From Which of This Oak" is a demo release by US post black metal/doom metal act Agalloch, self-released in 1996. Agalloch are quite the prolific act these days, but everyone´s got to start somewhere and this is their first release.

The music on the demo is doomy and dark extreme metal. The vocals are very harsh and raspy. There are some clean singing on the demo too, but those vocal parts are usually hidden behind layers of chorus and reverb. There are also some female singing on the demo which add some extra diversity to the sound.

It´s obvious that the band have some great melodic ideas and the tracks are often led by melodic lead guitar themes. Out of the 4 tracks on the 34:43 minutes long demo, one track is an atmospheric and mostly instrumental track ("Foliorum Viridum"), while the remaining 3 tracks are much longer blackened doom metal tracks.

Considering that "From Which of This Oak" is a demo the sound quality is pretty good, although not of a professional standard. As far as demos go it´s always interesting to hear where it all started for an artist that have achived quite a lot of artistic success since then and "From Which of This Oak" proves to be a decent and promising start to Agalloch´s career. A 2.5 - 3 star (55%) rating is warranted.

The Angry Scotsman The debut work by Agalloch, this may surprise fans of their later work.

This demo is the closest Agalloch got to black metal. While still closely rooted to black metal, (and indeed shares many of its tenets) even with this early release we see Agalloch branching off from the tree.

This is a pretty low fi recording, with a healthy bit of tremolo picking, double bass, blast beats, and raspy shrieks. However, this is not your standard black metal release. While raw, it's not nearly as low fi as most black metal. Which is good since you can hear everything but still get that raw, gritty black metal feel.

However, it's the songwriting that sets this apart from the norm, and makes it a really good album. These are not 7 minute long walls of frantically tremolo picked guitar and blast beats. Black metal is built on its simplistic, rarely changing song structures and sonic assaults. This demo has pretty progressive song writing, actual riffing and musical talent. There is even use of acoustic guitar and clean vocals. Not too often does the music descend into sonic barrages and in fact is often quite beautiful.

A really impressive demo. Even here Agalloch displays wonderful songwriting ability and creativity. The only other band I can think of with a similar sound at the time was Ulver, and while Garm may have created the atmospheric, progressive folk tinged style of black metal, this demo has a different feel than Ulver's work.

The second song can drag at times, and many metal heads will struggle with this style, either due to its progressive nature or rawness, but this is an impressive release.

Three Stars

bonnek Agalloch's first demo is an adequate introduction to the band. It's not the superb atmospheric metal from later years yet but it's an interesting release for metal fans. The production is still rough around the edges but superior to many official black metal albums from the early 90’s and the music is quite enjoyable.

The Wilderness is an excellent opener, sounding remarkably similar to Iron Maiden doing a frost-bitten run through their classic material with a high-pitched hoarse shriek behind the mike. Great black metal. As Embers Dress The Sky comes closer to Agalloch’s trademark sound and would also end up on the debut. Fast and slightly dissonant riffs build an entrancing groove, similar to Katatonia’s Brave Murder Day sound. It introduces Agalloch’s clean vocals, slightly hesitant and over-reverbed but with the desired sinister effect. The composition is well-balanced and smart, probably slightly droning to some, but enchanting to my ears.

Fliorum Viridum stars with a classical instrumental piece on keyboards, very symphonic and atmospheric but nothing unusual in this type of ‘gothic doom black metal’ (another metal sub if you needed one). The second section features slow plodding doom riffs with those typical chilling guitar harmonies that were so popular in those years. This Old Cabin is less remarkable but competent morose black metal, reminding me a lot to Ulver’s debut.

Now, how to rate a demo? Fan material by definition. Given that the sound quality is more then acceptable, given that the music is satisfactory and the total length is 35 minutes, 3 stars seems appropriate.

Conor Fynes 'From Which Of This Oak' - Agalloch (6/10)

Having already been active for a decade and a half since this demo came out, Agalloch has certainly developed and refined their sounds very well. Along the way, they have released some absolutely majestic music. With this demo, it is proven that even from the very inception of their work, they knew what direction they were going in. Things are obviously in a very rough and unpolished state here, but as band demonstrations go, this is one of the best I've heard in the realm of metal.

The sound here is alot more along the lines of black metal than on latter releases. Inhuman shrieks, fast paced tremolo picking and a generally lo-fi sound all contribute to the classic 'black' sound. However, even this early on, there is still alot going on that makes the sound unique. There is the presence of more acoustically based instruments, the signature clean vocals of future frontman John Haughm and the same feeling of despair and melancholy that has attracted the band such a dedicated fanbase.

I personally find the low fidelity production to be not a problem at all; all of the instruments and melodies can still be heard. The musicianship here isn't quite up to par with later work however. Shane Breyer's black metal vocal work does not appeal to me nearly as much as the raspier snarl of Haughm, who would later take up all singing roles. Also, things are not quite as tight as they could be, particularly the drumwork; a problem that would also be solved with John Haughm's subsequent switch to guitar and vocal work.

While fans are certainly going to get the most out of this EP, this is one of the few demos I can listen to without simply getting a fan's satisfaction. There is musical depth here in any case, and while only those with an existing appreciation of black metal will take this demo to heart, there is quite a bit else going on here.

Phonebook Eater What an excellent debut for a band like Agalloch, that surely demonstrated that they are one of the finest Metal groups today. But in "From Which Of this Oak", they still are an immature, and not -ready-to-rise band. But this is indeed an impressive debut, for being just an EP: in fact, this just might be the best Agalloch EP ever.

The sub genre here isn't Doom Metal yet, like in their following efforts, but it is still very attached to Black Metal roots. The production also is rougher than the other albums, but it cannot be exactly defined as lo-fi, and some interesting folk passages are present.

the EP has four songs:

"The Wilderness", a Black Metal masterpiece, that has everything the genre needs: Black growls, fast shredding guitars, desperate atmosphere, but with interesting acoustic moments. Definitely an underrated song.

"As Embers Dress The Sky" just might be one of my favorite Agalloch songs: great melodies, great performances, a nice delicate part in the middle of the song, and an outstanding grand finale, with shredding guitars. Beautiful.

"Foliorum Viridium", which means " Of the Green Leaves", is an atmospheric piece, that reminds in many moments a fantasy movie score. It is all instrumental. This version is longer and has a different ending than the version of "Of Stone, Wind And Pillor". The finale has electric guitars playing, which is what brought down this amazing song. I prefer the latter version in the other EP. I must say it's a shame it never ended in a studio album.

"This Old Cabin" is what, in my opinion, really brought down the rating of the album. A little too long, but it has some nice moments here and there. Similar to "The Wilderness", but nowhere near as good.

This album has it's moments, that's for sure, I would surely listen to it if I was a Black Metal fan, or even a fan of the band. It also has some interesting moments that could be easily be defined as progressive. 3.5 stars.