Agalloch - The Mantle

Agalloch from Portland doesn't fit in any genre easily. Their music has been labeled as atmospheric folk/doom/black metal or post-rock/post-metal and their style differs on their various releases. The first album I've picked up was their second studio album The Mantle, released in 2002 and for me it fits nicely in the post-metal category together with Alcest and Sólstafir.

Formed in 1995 by John Haughm, Agalloch has been active with a more or less stable line-up from 1995 - 2016. Until 2004 John Haughm not only provided his vocals but also played guitar and drums. Don Anderson has been with the band since 1996, playing guitar and  keyboard. Jason Walton was added on bass in 1997. In 2023 Agalloch was reunited for some selected festivals and shows and Haughm, Anderson and Walton were still part of the line-up. Only the role of drummer has been subject to some changes during the band's history. The 2023 line-up now features Hunter Ginn on drums.

Agalloch seems to have some kind of cult following and cult status among their fans. Much to the grievance of others. Where many praise Agalloch as pioneering, others can't state often enought that Agalloch haven't reinvented the wheel in none of their releases. Some praise the atmospheric ambience on The Mantle, others call it unfocused, pretentious and boring. Well, I can't comment on how unique Agalloch is or isn't, but I can say that The Mantle grew on me very quickly.

With 68 minutes and nine songs this album is long and it definitely requires a certain mood if you want to enjoy it. Four out of the nine song are instrumentals, which is probably a major turnoff on itself for many listeners. The songs are long. In The Shadow Of Our Pale Companion runs for impressive 14:45 minutes and as it connects seemlessly to the instrumental tracks before and after, you get a 25 minute section that wants to be listened to in one go.

If you feel up for it though, Agalloch will bring you beautiful acoustic melodies and ambience sounds that will transport you into epic and majestic landscapes. Haughm uses clean vocals which I am not the biggest fan of as they are rather nasal, but he also uses some black metal rasping, which I like. His voice is nearly always not in the foreground as is the mostly simple and generic drumming. It is the sound of the guitar melodies that dominates the songs.

The fourth song I Am The Wooden Doors ist the heaviest and most black metal song on this album and breaks the ethereal atmoshpere for the first time with fast double bass drumming and the distorted guitar sound and rasping vocals one expects in black metal. The middle part features a beautiful acoustic folk passage, which slows the song down for a bit before the double kicks return.

Another of the "heavier" songs is the sixth track You Were But A Ghost In My Arms, which happens to be my least favourite on this album. It is the nasal tone of the clean passages, that ruins the song a bit for me although the harsh vocal parts and the drumming are pretty decent though.

And The Great Cold Death Of The Earth features the same melodies like the opening instrumental A Celebration For The Death Of Man. If this were the closing track the last song would end with the same melody the first song started with. This is another great song with some clean singing and beautiful folky acoustic guitars. In the middle, there is a great and very dramatic section with drumming, strings and a contrabass.

I don't know why Agalloch didn't end their album with this song, but I am glad they didn't, because there is still the bitter and wonderful Desolation Song. Probably my favourite song on this album.

With Agalloch I found myself another little gem I'll treasure. This is music for the soul. When the heart grows weary and you need a break from life, instead of actually walking the mountains or drowning yourself in a river, listen to this wonderful music. It will give back some strength, some hope and some much-needed peace of mind.