Agalloch
Marrow of the Spirit

Release Date: 2010 | Tracklist

Being a fan of Agalloch for some time now I was a little surprised by the sheer heaviness of this album. After the acoustic laden Mantle and catchy harmonics of Ashes Against the Grain this album seems much colder than any other of their previous efforts. Agalloch has always been associated with black metal but never before have they sounded more Scandinavian or darkwave, the first real track after the opener/intro starts with a full sweep across the drumset and moves directly into a full on blastbeat that sounds like it's manned by Tyrm or Hellhammer. That doesn't mean this album is completely devoid of good melody and how could it, Agalloch is known for their beautifully crafted atmospheres consisting of a good balance between heavy and soft melodies while always retaining a certain catchiness. All of these qualities are here this time around it's just a little harder to grasp onto. Guitar melodies that in the past would have typically done with acoustic guitars are predominantly done with electric distorted guitars over top of a larger wall of noise than this band has experimented with in the past. That being said this a rewarding album to get into because you're probably going to notice and appreciate new things every listen.
Some of the vocals however are in my opinion the albums weakest points. There are a few parts that I feel the vocals just don't work and since Agalloch's vocals are few and far-apart that's saying something. Some lines Into the Painted Grey are whispered over loud distorted guitars and drums, some of the vocals in Black Lake Niostang are harshly yelled and although I admire the creativity and risks they took I feel some of these vocals just make you wish they stuck to a more traditional style. And although I don't find everything impeccable here that doesn't necessarily hurt the songs that much. Considering the length of the songs (if you know Agalloch you know their songs are generally longer that 10 mins long not to mention Agallochs longest song of their career is on here clocking in at over 17 mins) experimentation (even if some are truly iffy attempts) is truly welcome here.
Although this is the bands heaviest outing to date that doesn’t mean this album is devoid of it's softer/earthier moments. The intro to the album is a good example being a viola (I think) being played over the sound of a babbling brook that clocks in at over three mins. These softer elements are intertwined through the heavier songs and truly come through and shine on the album closer To Drown, a 10 min heavily atmospheric track that relies heavily on softer melodies and synths just as much as guitars. Agalloch has always relied heavily on emotion and is in part what catches the majority of their listeners attention and that’s all here on this release it’s just done a different way than what they’ve done in the past and sometimes it works beautifully. The build up on Into the Painted Grey that climaxs with the line “How long shall I suffer here?” growled with all Haughm’s intensity and passion come across as a classic Agalloch moment and a unique one since as I said before this is a whole new sonic landscape for these guys.
Although this is probably not what fans (I wasn’t) were expecting from the new album and may not even be their strongest outing this is defiantly a worthwhile edition to the bands catalogue. Retaining some of the bands heaviest moments to date while still holding true to the vast atmospheres that we know and expect from these guys makes this a vital release if you want to hear all side of this band. Defiantly a favorite for 2010.

Tweet

user ratings (1554)

rate it Awful - 1 Very Poor - 1.5 Poor - 2 Average - 2.5 Good - 3 Great - 3.5 Excellent - 4 Superb - 4.5 Classic - 5

3.9 excellent

Rank: #149 for 2010