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User
Soundoffs 36
Album Ratings 2032
Objectivity 66%
Last Active 12-23-19 12:30 am
Joined 04-11-09
Review Comments 154
| From Best to Worst: Agalloch
To be fair, this isn't really a band that ever made a bad album. Not even close. So really this is more of a ranking of their albums, all of which I hold in very high regard. I might add on EP's at some point since they had so few studio albums. | | 1 |  | Agalloch
The Mantle
This is perhaps the most obvious choice but I got into Agalloch when this was released. Yes it's a nostalgic choice, but I also think it is a masterpiece and the epitome of what an Agalloch album should be; bleak, brutal and melancholic. This is the album that instantly transports me to a cold, barren land even if it's the middle of summer in the city and the AC's out. | | 2 |  | Agalloch
Marrow of the Spirit
Perhaps a controversial choice, but since its release I've listened to it more than their other releases (The Mantle not withstanding). Marrow of the Spirit is a near perfect album. The two pieces that bookend the album are my least favorite aspect of the album and probably the only thing that keeps this from being absolutely perfect. What keeps this one so constant in rotation is Into the Painted Grey through Ghosts of the Midwinter Fires. Those four tracks are simply wonderful and some of the best music Agalloch ever composed. | | 3 |  | Agalloch
Ashes Against the Grain
Many fans consider this to be Agalloch's crowning achievement and because Agalloch's albums are all so strong, it's hard to argue one over the other. This and Marrow of the Spirit are both near perfect and I only give Marrow of the Spirit the slight edge. With tracks like Falling Snow, Fire Above Ice Below and Not Unlike the Waves, this is yet another timeless Agalloch classic. | | 4 |  | Agalloch
Pale Folklore
The ragged production and the still developing band hold this album back from being the best Agalloch has to offer, yet there is some tremendous songwriting and tracks that go down as some of Agalloch's finest. I don't put this album into rotation too often anymore but it's still a very impressive debut. | | 5 |  | Agalloch
The Serpent and the Sphere
Last but not truly least, The Serpent and the Sphere is an album that I've had a mixed relationship with and honestly didn't care for until more recently. I don't know why it didn't open up to me initially but songs like Celestial Effigy show Agalloch retaining their signature sound and adding something new to the mix and they're all the better for it. Overall, this is a solid album that has perhaps a few too many minor songs from Agalloch's oeuvre to stand up against the others but regardless, a worthy release and a fitting final chapter to the band. | |
Rik VII
12.15.16 | Beautiful list, very good descriptions! Also props for Marrow at 2, even though I prefer Ashes by a hair. The Mantle is my favorite, too. | Flugmorph
12.15.16 | never got into this band | Jasdevi087
12.15.16 | why aren't they all number 5? | Artuma
12.15.16 | swap 1 and 2 and i will completely agree | BigBlob
12.15.16 | I wouldn't really describe The Mantle as brutal .... | Gameofmetal
12.15.16 | wait this is actually exactly right | Gameofmetal
12.15.16 | "I wouldn't really describe The Mantle as brutal ...."
brutal can mean a lot of things, most just prescribe it to heaviness now. can be brutally emotive or desolate or something which is what id assume here | 50iL
12.15.16 | The Mantle just leaves me breathless every time dude
Have you checked 4's reissue? The production is much, much better | Gbhill
12.16.16 | I have yet to hear the reissue of Pale Folklore but it sounds like I should! Yes The Mantle leaves me breathless too. It's such a wonderful album. As for it being brutal, I would say Gameofmetal nailed it. Yes it might not be brutal in the traditional sense of the word but I do think this album has a brutality to it, certainly emotionally. | Sinternet
12.16.16 | this is one of those few sputcore bands that i've never really listened too, like i've got their whole discog downloaded i just haven't listened to it yet | Ocean of Noise
12.16.16 | do it Sin. | Sinternet
12.16.16 | yeah i'm planning to, might give a couple of them a jam tomorrow | teamster
12.17.16 | 2 is 1 | Maco097
12.17.16 | No, it isn't | swallowtales
12.17.16 | 4>3>1>2 for me, haven't listened to serpent yet tho | Deathconscious
12.17.16 | Ranking the same bands over and over again, sweet. | swallowtales
12.17.16 | this is sputnik, what did you expect |
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