sorry for the title, nothing else would fit the character limit.

Probably shouldn't surprise anyone, but there are obvious traces of Agalloch on this. Instrumentally there are some pretty solid ideas here, but the overall vibe of this really doesn't do it for me. I don't enjoy the vocals on this song personally. I will check out the entire thing when it comes out, but since Darius is allowing for Pillorian comparisons, Pillorian >

I'm definitely not feeling this, but maybe the rest of the album will be better? not holding my breath though

I actually dig this. Definitely a way more colour- and playful approach than Pillorian imo.

"Incoming Pillorian comparisons...
Who am I kidding I'm gonna be comparing this to Pillorian every step of the way"

Why though, they sound nothing alike

Not big on the vocals/verses but I dig the drawn out instrumental parts

Although some of the instrumentals remind me of Serpent era Agalloch (which makes sense since it was their last album) which I know I'm in the minority here that loves that album

this is 30 times better yhan any agalloch

i see the comparison to serpent-era agalloch but i think this is a lot better

i'm really excited for this

who cares about Pillorian when this is fronted by Aaron Gregory
song's a behemoth so/but I'll need a bunch of spins to let it sink in

is it gud give it to me str8 (forgot headphones)

Will be better than Pillorian, thats for sure.

it's great, i love the emotive riffs, the textures and the way the song progresses

it's quite reserved but it still works

I thought this was pretty shit. Did not like the vocals at all and everything sounded fuzzy and weak. The last few minutes were a decent jam, but sitting through 8 minutes to get there was not a good time.

Why are the vocals mixed so shittily

not liking this , disappointed.

Pillorian wasn't that good either, but at least it was enjoyable.

I like it. I like it a lot.

I'm glad the "plastic coccon" part is really short because that little section just seems to make me cringe every time.

Having listened to this a handful of time now I have to say I generally like the musicianship/songwritting but I wish they went with a different vocalist...

[2]

This rules wtf guys

AJ is an acquired taste on vocals, I'll give you that.

yeah this is excellent and you guys need a boop on the nose

The death of Agalloch is reason enough to be salty.

Meh, don't know about the vocals and the mixing.

agalloch were dead anyways

What we really lost was John's ability to write interesting music.

interesting song and excited for more. The new style is really interesting tho I def didn't like the vocals much on the first listen.

I dig this

I think Pillorian is fantastic - seriously.

came to the thread to bitch about the title but you apologized in the first comment

Pillorian seriously own. This, not so much. But then again I might just not like this as much because it's not as Agalloch-esque.

pillorian released a banger but I think this is good in its own right too

This is good. Better than Pillorian and Pillorian were better than Agalloch

I actually like the vocals. Kind of looking forward to the album even though it's nothing like Agalloch

Pillorian rules you people are stupid.

You know, I hated this for like 4 minutes, but I think i'm into it now

Yeah dont know why everyone hated Pillorian like they were clearly pretty good

Not a fan of the vocals but musically it's decent. More interested in the upcoming Sculptured album tbh.

'Yeah dont know why everyone hated Pillorian like they were clearly pretty good' (2)

Because people (incorrectly) expected Agalloch mk II perhaps?

I'll definitely be checking this out.

Not sure yet how much I like this track. It has a certain quality to it but some parts seem a bit lackluster

This was great tbh. Looking forward to the release.

"plastic cocoons" section sounds straight out of Gazpacho's Demon

interest piqued at mention of Aaron John Gregory

That was stellar, looking forward to this.

""plastic cocoons" section sounds straight out of Gazpacho's Demon"

That part just seems like a cliché, cheesy modern prog trick. I dunno, really dislike that section. Luckily the rest of the song is growing on me though. Still not sold on the vocals although they bother me less than on initial listens and the mixing is kind of awkward at times but there is some great musicianship and ideas on display here

ass except for the last quarter

pillorian smokes this

idk, he still seems pretty basic bitch to me. overall this rules though.

Hell I actually like the vibe of this quite a bit. It's weird but...charming in a way? Definitely a unique atmosphere.

Vocals are kind of annoying though.

pillorian smokes this [2]

This ain't bad but yes so hard. Looks like Jon won out

Whoever was speaking on the vocals being an acquired taste, I can see that. The instrumentals are enjoyable, however.

I have mixed feelings on the vocals, might just be shitty mixing. I still like it a lot regardless.

well, this is weird. some riffs sound almost "cute" lol, guitar tone amplifies that feeling too. also some parts reminded me of dinosaur jr. or something similar haha. it's really interesting, but it also lacks something. seems really disjointed too.

Frustratingly rough around the edges compositorically (meaning that there are a LOT of parts where one thing is thrown in after another and they don't fit together at all). Some nice bits here and there though for sure and it gets better as it proceeds. Last 3 minutes are fun.

Cool cover art tho.

The polarization of this song is fascinating

Compositorally? Is that a word? I think its "compositionally". #spellingnazi

I don't know. It's not my mother tongue.

German

Yorngl

"there are a LOT of parts where one thing is thrown in after another and they don't fit together at all"

funny, I always felt the same about Agalloch's music as a whole. But the individual parts are so good that it works, especially in Pale Folklore.

Pale Folklore is definitely guilty of it. The other ones, not so much, especially Ashes Against the Grain. That one's songs are very cohesive.

Quite like the music, the vocals are just bizarre though.

I like this way more that Pillorian tbh.

Standard Disclaimer: Am Very Drunk

As someone that loves Giant Squid, it's surprising to me how polarizing the vocals are. I think they're great. They are bizarre in the best possible way. I think a lot of the people criticizing this are expecting it to be very similar to Agalloch, which is understandable, but I love the direction this project is heading. I found Pillorian to be very unambitious, albeit well executed. This is something else entirely. Really looking forward to hearing the rest of it.

i was expecting nothing out of either band after ts&ts disappointed me but what john haughm/pillorian offered was just so typical. yeah it has some nice tracks and some great riffs here and there and sometimes i do spin it and enjoy it, it's by no means a bad record but it's nothing beyond that. i'm digging this far more than expected. there's so much going on and all of it hits as far as i'm concerned.

sounds like HIM and Immolation had a demented child

Feels like this is going to be like CCR's Mardi Gras. The band seems lost without John and does not sound like a cohesive unit. On first listen, nothing really grabbed my attention, the whole thing was pretty much meandearing with uninteresting riffs after riffs and pretty subpar vox. I have pretty much 0 expectations now so maybe I'll be suprised

Pillorian comparison are obligatory...Pillorian's debut was one of the best bm releases last year with great songwriting and atmosphere (albeit not the most original).

i cannot understand how anyone can say this (or the band as a whole) doesn't sound cohesive, it absolutely does.

Yeah, this is great. Much like TS&TS it's grown on me a lot with each listen

There's a lot to like in this song, though the vocal mix is really odd to my ears. I never liked Giant Squid much so I wasn't anticipating enjoying this at all though, but I am digging it. There are a couple of riffs in this song that make me realize how important the guitarist was to Agalloch and makes me realize why I find Pillorian so lackluster. Seeing Pillorian tomorrow night nonetheless.

Pillorian was pretty boring when I saw them open for WITTR

WITTR was kind of disappointing too though

Yikes the vocals

listening again, this is still really good. drum sound is kind of annoying though, especially the ride bell tinkatinkatinkatinka towards the end

"Pillorian was pretty boring when I saw them open for WITTR"

kinda, yeah

"WITTR was kind of disappointing too though"

get outta here

WITTR were pretty good when I saw them.

Just saw Pillorian close for Falls of Rauros. Pillorian was good but not great.

"WITTR was kind of disappointing too though"

yea that was my experience too. I've never listened to Wiegedood before that night when they were opening for WITTR, but those guys totally stole the show.

WITTR was at their best when they were playing Queen of the Borrowed Light, the rest was just ok

Wiegedood wasn't at the show but I’ve never listened to them

i'm low-key obsessed with this track

y'all jam the new track, Glacial Gold?

https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2018/06/19/620484637/khorada-forged-from-agalloch-and-giant-squids-ashes-burnishes-glacial-gold

Nah, but now I will. I listened to this again and it was better the second time around. Still not sure how much I like it.

New song sounds like it wouldn't be out of place on a Giant Squid album.

"Nah, but now I will. I listened to this again and it was better the second time around. Still not sure how much I like it."

Give it a couple more tries. It's grown on me a lot

Well that put a big ole' grin on my face. I'm hoping the album is going to be greater than the sum of its parts. These tracks are at their best when they sound like Giant Squid tbh.

holy shit I think it's even worse than the first single. There's nothing original or any musical idea rich enough to sustain my attention (yeah there's a shallow Agallochy lead at 4 min so low and panned to the left it's laughable...). The only thing that's surprising about this is that nobody tried to stop that vocal performance and try to find somebody that could actually sing in key

How is he not in key? I actually think he sounds a lot better on the second song than the first. The sound they went for on that one suits his vocal style a lot better

Yeah please explain how he's not in key.

I have VERY limited background in musical theory, but let's take the first 2 mins for example. Assuming the song is in natural minor mode, his vocal lines are basically following the guitar lines for the first 2 mins or so right? But many times, he actually is not hitting the notes from the same scale (or key)in that mode, especially when he goes in a higher (ex. at 20-ish seconds) which creates a rather discordant "harmony" and makes me cringe really hard. I might be totally wrong but its the feeling I get...

I am not trying to be a dick, but I am a huuuuuge Agalloch fan (even TSATS) and I'm just really disappointed with this so far, not just vocally but musically as well. Plus, some of the mixing decision in terms of level and instrument panning are quite strange too

Assuming the song is in natural minor mode, his vocal lines are basically following the guitar lines for the first 2 mins or so right But many times, he actually is not hitting the notes from the same scale (or key)in that mode

Lol he's definitely objectively off pitch quite often on both this and the other song. Sure he's aiming for notes within the key, but ends up wavering around the actual correct pitches. It reminds me of what music would sound like if I tried singing. Just listen to 3:43 - to 4:00 for example. I'm still not exactly sure how I feel about this project but you guys have better ears than that, unless you're pedantically arguing key vs pitch

yeah he is not a good singer.

Upon 2nd listen of the new song I do hear some of what lalchimsite and dungeon are saying but not to the same extent I think and I do still think the sound of his voice pairs pretty well with that style.

Overall I like it (and I am also a huge Agalloch fan and probably the biggest TSatS defender on this damn site)

Salt streaming in full. Enjoy!:

https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8466178/khorada-salt-debut-album-ex-agalloch-giant-squid-members-listen

Good looking out. Might jam that tonight.

AJ is the fucking man. Since Giant Squid dissolved, he's dropped Squalus and now this and both are great.

This was better than I expected. Going to have to jam it again, but I was pleasantly surprised on first listen.

Anyone?

I was going to check this, then subsequently forgot. Thanks for the reminder.

kinda surprised nobody jumped on reviewing this

Working on it. Probably done by the middle of next week.

My lukewarm reception to the first 2 singles has slightly warmed up since listening to the full album a few times. I still am not a fan of the vox, but I can get over them even if they are cringe worthy at times (Don't get me wrong, I dig diarrhea toilet vox DM or tortured cat in a forest BM vox and fist-in-the-sky operatic vox, but this is another style completely). Overall the project feels like the vessel for Don et al. to go all-in on the more experimental/progressive side of Agalloch which results in a totally different atmosphere than an Agalloch record.

Anyways, as always, multiple listens are always required to get a full grasp/enjoyment out of a record and it seems this one keeps growing on me everytime