Album Rating: 5.0

Thanks my man. m/

Album Rating: 5.0

damn how did i miss this, missed out on the discussion



favorite album of all time

Album Rating: 5.0

I was wondering when you'd pop in Kyle. Yeah might be mine as well.

Album Rating: 4.5

m/

Album Rating: 5.0

to those commenting about the sloppiness you have to understand that when this was released the band was very much in development still. from which of this oak is even sloppier than this, and when you compare "as embers dress the sky" from that demo and this you'll see a ridiculous difference. they aren't as refined as they were when they, say, made ashes but that's a large part of what makes this better imo... there's a real je ne sais quoi with this record that resonates with me

Album Rating: 4.5

Hallways of Enchanted Ebony is the definitive Agalloch song.

Album Rating: 4.5

If anything, The Mantle has that effect for me. There're some subtle mistakes and weird songwriting choices throughout, but I barely ever even notice them, and they end up adding to the magic. Ashes is their tightest and most well-written, and peaks their evolution in my opinion. Ashes is probably tied with this for my second favorite, after The Mantle.



As for this, when every snare hit sounds off and too loose, some strange vocals pop up here and there, and some leads and solos sound amateurish and even out of tune at times, it's a little much. They very much improved from the previous material, but I see it all as a fluid evolution, peaking with Ashes. The White could be seen as a sort of epilogue I suppose. Marrow begins a new direction in a lot of ways, given how much they changed.

Album Rating: 4.5

my problem with The Mantle is that the pacing is a bit too deliberate. what I mean by that is that while Ashes builds to a natural climax, The Mantle sort of predictably plods along with its song/instrumental/song/instrumental pattern, and as a result there's no real climactic moment.



thing is, such evocative and slowly-building music really DEMANDS a climax. the individual songs on The Mantle are amazing, but as a whole it just sort of goes by.

Album Rating: 4.5

None of their albums have a conventional order like that though. This always started pretty slowly for me, with a lot of melodic bm/post-rock stuff in the first half until the final epics in the second half.



Ashes is the opposite, with the four epics in the very beginning and the atmospheric, heavily instrumental stuff in the second half instead, especially when including the 20 minute Scars at the end.



To me, The Mantle plays out like a post-metal album in terms of the pacing. The music is so diverse and unpredictable, it doesn't even bother me that the order is so obvious like you described Ocean.



All three are different, and those qualities work well for each release imo.

Album Rating: 3.5

"Hallways of Enchanted Ebony is the definitive Agalloch song"



no no no no no.

Album Rating: 5.0

Yeah Hallways is amazing, but it's not even the best song here.



In the Shadow, Falling Snow, Dead Winter Days, and Embers are more in the running for definitive Agalloch song for me, but I wouldn't argue with Hallways either tbh.

Album Rating: 5.0

And I agree 100% with Kyle's last comment.

Album Rating: 3.5

in the shadow is obviously the definitive agalloch song

Album Rating: 4.5

I think Hawks and I share the same favorite song from each album. Shadow is probably the best representation of their sound.

"Shadow is probably the best representation of their sound."

How so? They've never replicated that sound anywhere else

A song off this would probably be the best representation of their sound simply because throughout their evolution they've stuck to a certain core and this is where that was first built upon

Album Rating: 4.5

Well maybe the best representation of their progressive/post-metal side. Embers or Dead Winter Days from here would probably cover more of their bases.

Album Rating: 5.0

All rule. m/

Album Rating: 3.5

"their progressive/post-metal side" lol

Album Rating: 4.5

Art there's a good amount of that in their sound, especially on that song, I'm not saying that's their primary genre.

Album Rating: 3.5

nothing progressive or post-metal about them, sorry