CD: The Mantle
Reviewer: Jeff from Metalwhore.com
Review:
Track Listing:
01. Celebration for the Death of Man ...
02. In the Shadow of Our Pale Companion
03. Odal
04. I Am the Wooden Doors
05. The Lodge
06. You Were But A Ghost In My Arms
07. Hawthorne Passage
08. ...And The Great Cold Death Of The Earth
09. Desolation Song
I discovered Agalloch one night while hiking in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. Led on by haunting acoustic guitars, I spied a clearing in the trees and seated around a bonfire were four men singing hymns to Osiris, the Horned god of the forest. Not really...but that would have been perfect.
Agalloch are proof that you don't have to be loud, fast and aggressive to sound dark and evil. They combine a hugely eclectic range of instruments:12 & 6 string guitars, wood chimes, synths, cymbals and various percussion devices (including one made of deer antlers). Add to this a mixture of black metal style vocals and straight ahead singing...it's just fucking amazing. And I don't want to give the impression that these are all mellow campfire ditties, these boys can blaze. Check out I Am The Wooden Doors or You Were But A Ghost In My Arms for proof positive of that. This disc gives a whole new meaning to the term "atmospheric"...not to sound clichéd, but slap the headphones on for this one and I guarantee you'll be transported to another place. A place where man hasn't had the chance to bulldoze and pave. One of the great things about this band is knowing when not to sing. Four of the nine tracks are instrumentals, but when they do, it's deep and insightful. There's no screaming about satan here, kids. Sample a line from In The Shadow Of Our Pale Companion: Here at the edge of this world / Here I gaze at a pantheon of oak, a citadel of stone / If this grand panorama before me is what you call god... / Then god is not dead Poetry...plain and simple.
Standout Tracks: In The Shadow Of Our Pale Companion, I Am The Wooden Doors & ....And The Great Cold Death Of The Earth
Agalloch are another of those bands that's hard to confine into any particular genre...because they've started one of their own. Acoustic Black? Forest Metal? I don't know and I don't care. The Mantle is easily one of the best CD's I've picked up this year. Download ...And The Great Cold Death Of The Earth and you'll understand. Then order it from The End.
jeff Rating: 10
http://www.theendrecords.com/labelindex.html
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