Day 77
Band Origin: Portland, Oregon, USA
Genre: Black Metal / Folk Metal / Post-metal
Label: Profound Lore
Running Time: 65 minutes
Release Date: November 23, 2010
Best Part: Black Lake Nidstång is a classic example of a long-form epic track, clocking in at over 17 minutes. It also features some of the band's best ambient work, and ends in true Agalloch fashion.
Favorite Tracks: Black Lake Nidstång, Into the Painted Grey, Ghosts of Midwinter Fires, The Watcher's Monolith, and To Drown
Grade: 5
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Marrow of the Spirit in way more than 20 words or less:
The first full-length release by the band in four years also marks a return to its traditional roots, with a completely vintage style recording process which adds just the right texture to its abundance of style.
The Band:
Agalloch is a four piece metal band from Portland which has always incorporated elements of black metal, folk and doom into their compositions, including later influences in the form of more post-metal oriented tones. The band was formed in 1995 by vocalist, guitarist and drummer John Haughm and former keyboardist Shane Breyer whom began recording material for an early demo tape. Guitarist Don Anderson would join the duo in later into the recording process, and bassist Jason William Walton also joined shortly after the final product, creating the bands first official lineup. Breyer would leave the group in 1998 because of a lack of interest in music, and until 2004 no other lineup changes would occur until drummer Chris Greene would join the band, to be later replaced by Aesop Dekker in 2007. Agalloch has released four EP's and four full-length records, each with the own twists and shifts in composition and style, all the while keeping true to their folk and black metal roots.
Agalloch's previous releases include: Pale Folklore (1999), Of Stone, Wind and Pillor EP (2001), The Mantle (2002), Tomorrow Will Never Come EP (2003), The Grey EP (2004), Ashes Against the Grain (2006), and The White EP (2008)
Agalloch is a four piece metal band from Portland which has always incorporated elements of black metal, folk and doom into their compositions, including later influences in the form of more post-metal oriented tones. The band was formed in 1995 by vocalist, guitarist and drummer John Haughm and former keyboardist Shane Breyer whom began recording material for an early demo tape. Guitarist Don Anderson would join the duo in later into the recording process, and bassist Jason William Walton also joined shortly after the final product, creating the bands first official lineup. Breyer would leave the group in 1998 because of a lack of interest in music, and until 2004 no other lineup changes would occur until drummer Chris Greene would join the band, to be later replaced by Aesop Dekker in 2007. Agalloch has released four EP's and four full-length records, each with the own twists and shifts in composition and style, all the while keeping true to their folk and black metal roots.
Agalloch's previous releases include: Pale Folklore (1999), Of Stone, Wind and Pillor EP (2001), The Mantle (2002), Tomorrow Will Never Come EP (2003), The Grey EP (2004), Ashes Against the Grain (2006), and The White EP (2008)
Jay's Take on Marrow of the Spirit:
Admittedly, I had only run into Agalloch relatively late into their career, but their discovery after being featured as #1 on Hellbound's Top 20 albums of 2010 has been nothing but a boon, in the sense that their music has been some of the most refreshing to listen to amidst a plethora of artists that I've had the the chance to both discover and enjoy. Marrow of the Spirit is a very special record in that regard because it takes everything that the band itself has been about and brings it back to its fundamental roots. John Haughm stated upon its release that the band was looking to create an album that sounded more alive, more real, and felt more organic than their previous recording which they felt sounded too mechanized. It is for that reason that Marrow of the Spirit was recorded using vintage, analog equipment, giving it a more old school vibe and unpolished texture. If this sounds at all familiar, it's a technique that is also used by other bands such as Wolves In The Throne Room. The album was the bands first full-length record in four years, and is the first to feature newest drummer Aesop Dekker, who also tracked drums for their previous EP The White. Marrow of the Spirit includes some great instrumentation outside of the skill set of Haughm, Anderson, Walton and Dekker. Guest musicians provided much of the ambiance and subtle intricacies of the album, including Jackie Perez Gratz's cello work most notably on the intro track They Escaped the Weight of Darkness, Jeffrey Neblock of Vindensång who provided the field recordings for the record and piano on The Watcher's Monolith, Nathan Carson of Sunn-O))) on keys, vibraphone and glockenspiel on the 17 minute epic Black Lake Niðstång, and Veleda Thorsson's petrified bone, glass and metal sheet percussion work on the closing track To Drown.
Sample of the Day:
Two-fer today, of course. There was no way I could not include the 17 minute epic Black Lake Nidstång from the samples.
- J
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