Metal Reviews

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Very good review Zad, you hit the nail. I also believe that Agalloch is more easily compared to Drudkh than Opeth. 90 for me, a masterpiece that quickly became my favorite Agalloch album. Two weeks ago I went to a lake that's 30 min from my home with some friends, and in the night, we played this in the stereo, while smoking weed, feeling the cold night air and gazing at the stars. Wonderful.

nah

There is some incredibly beautiful music on here, even to those of us who don't use.

Possibly the biggest detraction is some extended passages which are somewhat uneventful.

Awesome album, much rawer than their previous material, particularly the very polished "Ashes..." (although that remains my favourite) - the new drummer makes for an interesting sound. Good review, glad to see you're on board the scenic mystery tour that is Agalloch - don't mind Steve, he loves Moonspell (btw referring to them as Agasuck only makes you look the fool )

Agreed General. Another solid release, my only quibble, like with their previous album, is the post-rock passages....but when they are doing metal they are among the best.

Agreed on the Drudkh comparison, too, Zad. Agalloch has also listed Ulver and Katatonia's early word as influences, yet they apparently are none too fond of Opeth's work.


And btw, Still Life, I think we should let Steve's Agasuck business go this time--he's in a rough spot in real life.

Fair enough - no offense intended, just sticking up for the music I love each to their own I always say anyway

pshhh this album deserves to be in the 90's. One of the best albums of 2010. Damn i love this band to death.

This. But then again it's up to everyone to decide for themselves. I'm just glad this finally got reviewed.
When I heard The Mantle a few years ago, my introduction to Agalloch, I wasn't too keen on the vocals either. But the music just took me to another world almost instantly, something I've experienced with all of their albums, including this one.

Vocals aren't "out of place" at all. Comparing the emotion of pure Neofolk bands to Agalloch is like someone saying they prefer Ketchup over Mustard and has nothing to do with the album itself. Anyways, rating is fine, review is shit.

You will just never be happy, will you?

Yet another release I've put off. I wish music was free for me only.

Fine, the whole review wasn't bad. You're one of the best reviewers here.

I was very disappointed with this at first because I was hoping for "The Mantle" Part II; although it never happened. Agalloch was and still is one of my favourite bands of all time and I play The Mantle every few weeks since it came out. As for this album it really grew on me because of the expectations I had and the wall I had created for myself in the first place expecting something else from it. The score seems to be spot on. Another precise review, Zad. Great job--regardless that I don't agree with your first paragraph which is indeed purely personal.

I really love Agalloch's musicianship, but the lyrical content really grates on my nerves and always had. I think they're pretty great, though. Might have to check this out; didn't know they'd released anything new since that album with Falling Snow on it.

Zad complaining about the harsh vocals... what a noob.

I think the vocals are better than they have previously been, with the exception of the clean vocals on The Mantle. To me, The Mantle is a 100% flawless gem, and this one... not quite sure, but definitely around the 90 range.

Okay, so since I thought the vocals on The Mantle were whiny and lame I guess this album won't be for me either.

When I began searching through previous reviews to find this one, I didn't realize it was this old. Oh well.

I've been listening to this a lot lately. I didn't particularly care for it at first and wasn't really in the mood to listen to it, so it was mostly shelved for several months. It has grown on me some, but I mostly find the parts I liked initially are parts I like even more now. I still have qualms with the drumming. It's fine at times; other times it sounds sloppy, behind, or, in a couple cases, inappropriate. There are several sections where the "music" just meanders. Their music has always done that, but I always thought it worked. Even the noise at the end of 'Ashes' was very fitting and well executed. Here, it often just goes nowhere and is sometimes out of place. A few passages even sound eerily similar (even recycled) to older works, particularly if you are familiar with the "From Which of This Oak" demo and the first full length.

And what is with the winter cover and the ambient sounds of summer that percolate this album?

Of course, I talk a lot about the parts I don't like, but there are parts that I think are great as well. The shrieks in the second verse of 'Black Lake' are mesmerizing, and work perfectly with the backing music. "The Watcher's Monolith" is maybe my favorite track until the ambient nonsense at the end. I don't care as much for "Ghosts of the Midwinter Fires" as many people seem to though.

It's still an above average album, and one I like enough to listen to some, but I think it's their weakest (I like the "White" EP much more than this also). "The Mantle" remains my favorite.

-Tyrion