When Pitchfork‘s music snobs give a folk-tinted black-metal album a score of 8.0, you know it’s something well worth checking out. That’s exactly what happened with AGALLOCH‘s third full-length “Ashes Against the Grain” in 2006. Then again, classifying this particular album as black metal may be quite a stretch, but I reckon it’s still the best option; these songs resonate thick with the gothic air of early KATATONIA, as well as the evil, folksy vibe of early ULVER, and some have even likened the music to OPETH! In fact, that’s what lured me to check out this album in the first place. However, save for a few proggy and acoustic build-ups, the similarities are few and far between; at least I have yet to come across an OPETH song with such strong shoegaze elements. That said, I was far from disappointed when I first listened to this album back in the day. Atmospheric, dark folk with subtle black-metal flourishes works wonders whenever it’s executed with this level of finesse and conviction, oscillating between the shadow and the light like Muhammad Ali. Y’know, stinging like a bee and dancing like a butterfly. The said black-metal vibe comes mainly from John Haughm‘s harsh vocals here and there, but since such snarled black-metal shrieks are a deal breaker for some, I think it’s better to put the black-metal stamp on this affair. That way the weak-of-stomach know to keep away. It’s their loss, not mine. Not only did this album impress Pitchfork at the time, but it also sparked an ever-ongoing debate amongst the most devout fans whether the band’s finest output to date is their sophomore, folky affair entitled “The Mantle” (2002), or this fine beast. It’s almost as if the band never released anything else after these two cornerstone albums. Well, as a matter of fact, the band was put to rest in 2016, but the rumor has it that they started doing live concerts again just a few years ago. I have not followed their career with such a keen eye of late, so I really can’t say. Apart from a compilation album of oddities and rarities released last year, I don’t think the band has released anything official since 2014. Yeah, it’s been a while, and to be frank, I have not actually listened to this outing in a good while, either. So, now that the album is turning 20, let’s see how the songs have held up.
The opener, “Limbs,” is basically a 10-minute neo-folk epic that’s proggy and doom-laden enough to suggest a kinship with OPETH, their Candlelight era, especially. Proggy, in this case, means the atmospheric school of thought à la PINK FLOYD – y’know, like acoustic 5-minute intros and stuff – rather than tricky time signatures that make your spinal fluids boil. The song structure is also a little less patchwork than those early OPETH epics, but there’s something similar in the song’s general atmosphere – piercing melancholy bordering on Gothic doom.
What comes next will break the illusion of a band flirting with fairy-dusted folk, though. “Falling Snow” throws in a good dose of indie-tinted melodicism recalling many a British guitar brigade from the 1990s. Only when Haughm‘s black-metal snarls enter the picture does it instantly remind you of what’s what. His clean vocals resonate with the post-punk-esque air of yesteryear so strongly that for a moment I thought I had misplaced something else on my playlist. Also, the guitar melodies might trick you – they sound so cute and lovely that you almost forget you’re listening to a dark black-metal outing. There’s an ample amount of hoarse and throaty black-metal vocals to nudge you back to reality if you get utterly lost in the contemplation of the slow-falling snow, though. The song is one of the highlights of the selection, obviously.
After the brief, haunting, and ambient interlude of “This White Mountain on Which You Will Die,” the plot thickens remarkably with yet another epic. On “Fire Above, Ice Below,” post-rock and black metal shake hands with some medieval folk flourishes over the course of plus-10 minutes. After the first two haunting epics, this one sounds maybe a little bit more “basic,” if you will, but there is something endearingly hypnotic in the song’s simplistic approach, especially when you listen to the album in one go from start to finish – that’s the only proper way to listen to this beast, honestly. It’s a pretty decent track, but if you listen to these songs individually, in isolation, this one does not necessarily sound just as amazing as the others – simply because the other ones slap so damn hard.
Speaking of which, after all these years, “Not Unlike the Waves” triggered instant NOVEMBRE flashbacks for me! Those gloomy Italians also released one hell of a haunting album in 2006, entitled “Materia.” I guess there must have been something peculiar in the air around that time. I was blissfully unaware of either album at the time, but I’m pretty sure that had I encountered either one, it would have been love at first soundbite! In retrospect, the harsh vocals of this song recall early NOVEMBRE, and both the clean vocal melodies and guitar motifs resonate with the poignant air of that specific type of Italian melancholy. Needless to say, it’s goosebumpey time! With just a few minor tweaks here and there, this song could fit any NOVEMBRE album. Ambient gloom with evocative melodies truly make for a winning combo here.
The album ends with a 3-part suite under the heading, “Our Fortress Is Burning.” The first two parts build tension with the standard post-rock approach, meaning quite slowly – maybe even too slowly for my liking, especially when I’m not in the mood for such darkly shaded, atmospheric noodling. However, the ambient coda in the last one is way too haunting not to single out as one of the highlights of the album. Yeah, sure, it doesn’t necessarily work very well in isolation unless you’re looking for that kind of vibe in particular, but in the right frame of mind, it sure does work like black magic. The decision to wrap everything up with an ambient coda reminds me of the 2020 album, “Sal de Pierre” by the French post-black-metal outfit VOUS AUTRES – the ambient ending is the absolute peak of that album as well, IF you’re in the mood. If you’re not, it will just piss you off, and I reckon the same rule applies here. So, the last three songs are either the absolute worst or the absolute best this album has on offer, depending on your mood. Then again, this type of music is quite mood-dependent to begin with. All things considered, though, AGALLOCH‘s third album turned out to be much better than I remembered. I really should have listened to it more often – the classic status that it has gained over the years is more than well-deserved. The old magic has not lost its lustre.
Written by Jani Lehtinen
Tracklist
- Limbs
- Falling Snow
- This White Mountain on Which You Will Die
- Not Unlike the Waves
- Our Fortress Is Burning… I
- Our Fortress Is Burning… II: Bloodbirds
- Our Fortress Is Burning… III: The Grain
Lineup
Chris Greene – drums
John Haughm – vocals
Don Anderson – guitars
Jason William Walton – bass
Label
The End Records
