AGALLOCH — Ashes Against the Grain (review)

AGALLOCH — Ashes Against the Grain album cover Album · 2006 · Folk Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
SolarLuna96
This album is just... wow. It speeds though many genres including folk, ambient, black metal, and post metal. The first half of the first song, Limbs begins with a guitar cycling through multiple riffs until at about five minutes the vocals begin to paint a scene with the fine voice of John Haughm. What I really enjoy about his voice is that is can project many emotions flawlessly, and that he can do that through either growling or clean vocals, while many singers can only successfully use one style. Out of the forest, and into winter, Falling Snow continues the dark music that began the album except this time, more emotion seems to be put into the lyrics. Also, although still dark, Falling Snow seems to have a lighter hue than it's predecessor. The third song, This White Mountain On Which You Will Die, is a one minute ambient/noise track whose name comes from a lyric in Falling Snow. There is not much to say about this short track other than that it appears to be a segue from the “catchy” songs, to the more varied songs that follow it. The first of these songs, Fire Above, Ice Below. This song is probably the most ambitious track on the album as it cycles through many genres for the duration of ten minutes. It begins with folkish strumming, with clean guitars in the background, which really give the song some density. Once the vocals kick in, the electric guitar becomes more prominent, until the full riffing begins. The drums are actually very impressive during the riffing moment, repeating cymbal crash after cymbal crash. The song slows down and picks up again a couple times, and the guitar in each section never ceases to amaze me. The next song, Not Unlike the Waves opens with some heavy riffing but then a soft acoustic passage appears again. Once the passage ends, the song just gets heavier and heavier. Now, a three part suite begins. The first instrumental section (Our Fortress is Burning) begins with piano and acoustic guitar, but slowly builds up and moves to the second part. This song is not very metal and has a kind of ambient feel to it. The second part of the suite, Bloodbirds, is pretty much the climax of the entire album, and seems to be a more traditional Agalloch song, with more riffs and vocals. The part of the suite (The Grain) is a seven minute noise track. This is my least favorite on the album because there is really nothing to say about it. There is no point that it is trying to get across. Overall, I think that this album is an essential if you are a fan of Post Metal. Otherwise, I would suggest to dip your feet in slowly, maybe just the first two songs, if you are not familiar with much Post Metal.
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UMUR wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Now that´s what I call a first review!!! More of this please!

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