This is one of those albums that you really don't think exist until you hear it. Agalloch has managed to come up with something completely different from anything I`ve ever heard. This unique blend of acoustic guitars, folklore riffs and lyrics and blackened vocals is done amazingly. But its not the playing of the instruments that makes this album what it is… it`s the feeling of desolation lying under every chord and every uttered word.
The lyrics deal with a heavy topic… the eventual end of humanity. And yet Agalloch somehow sustain a peace within the music… very difficult to explain. There`s also a strong sense of reconnecting with nature, trying to find answers from the source of all questions. The music goes with these themes beautifully, and gets quite extreme in some parts, bringing a black metal sound into the already interesting mixture.
I guess `Dark Metal` would be the best description. An absolutely magnificent album for acquired taste.
Tracks:
1. A Celebration For The Death Of Man...
2. In The Shadow Of Our Pale Companion
3. Odal
4. I Am The Wooden Doors
5. The Lodge
6. You Were But A Ghost In My Arms
7. The Hawthorne Passage
8. ...And The Great Cold Death Of The Earth
9. A Desolation Song
Title: Agalloch - The Mantle Category:CD Reviews Sub-Category:Metal Author:Decadent Related Link:Agalloch Page Added: December 28th 2004 Viewed: 1343 Times Score: Options:
This is one of those albums that you really don't think exist until you hear it. Agalloch has managed to come up with something completely different from anything I`ve ever heard. This unique blend of acoustic guitars, folklore riffs and lyrics and blackened vocals is done amazingly. But its not the playing of the instruments that makes this album what it is… it`s the feeling of desolation lying under every chord and every uttered word.
