| | Full Review | Ratings (145) |
Give your Rating |
| 4.5 superb | Ryan P STAFF | April 4th 17 |
Idk if you people are on bath salts or if I'm a Haughm fanboy but I think this is pretty fantastic....
2 Bumps | Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | StormChaser | March 15th 17 |
What's with the rating? I'm 3 songs in and this doesn't sound like less than a 4 no way
2 Bumps | Bump |
| 3.0 good | DarkNoctus | February 7th 17 |
some very good agalloch-reminiscent moments (the reprise at the tail end of 'the vestige of thorns' and 'a stygian pyre', the occasional embellishments in melodic leads and john's clean vocals) spaced out by serviceable black/death metal. i have no doubt at all that the last track was originally intended as an agalloch track. it's alright, worth a listen. i'm significantly more excited for khorada though.
2 Bumps | Bump |
| 3.5 great | L4titudes | March 28th 17 |
All these comparisons to Agalloch but it's not all that reminiscent despite being the same
vocalist, song writer, etc. I'm somewhat of an Agalloch h8r but I thought this was great
and in that regard...
This>Agalloch
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 4.5 superb | TimKonn | March 13th 17 |
yea, i dont understand the negativity. Its not Agalloch. This albums the shit
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 3.0 good | Bedex | April 2nd 19 |
The first track is quite cool and made me hopeful this would be good - like Agalloch gone even blacker than on MotS. Except the rest of the album was a passable 'not bad, but not great'. Really not that exciting black metal, and it is quite disappointing to hear Haugm's vocals on such unimaginative music given his past output. 'The Sentient Arcanum' is a cool noise track. 3.1
Bump |
| 3.0 good | Alabaster Jones | June 5th 17 |
Take what are more or less basic, yet decent enough, atmo-black riffs, drums, song structures, et. al, and add John Haughm's wonderful vocals, and you pretty much have Obsidian Arc. It seems like after Agalloch's demise Haughm wanted to play it safe for a little bit, even more so than The Serpent And The Sphere, which Pillorian definitely accomplishes. It's pretty accessible atmo-black with some dark folk intertwined, has a pretty consistent, if a bit thin, wintery atmosphere, and each song has a decent melody or so. The closer, "Dark Is The Day Of Man", is a triumph in that it features not only the most vested vocal performance Haughm has on the record, but compositionally it's at least a head above the other songs on the record. It's not exactly forward-thinking in terms of anything musical it does, but one does wonder where Haughm and co. will decide to go after this; hopefully, they branch out more than they have here.
Bump |
| 3.0 good | cjbizzlebizzle | May 19th 17 |
The Agalloch comparisons are inevitable and ultimately impossible to avoid so let's make a terrible beer analogy out of it. Agalloch = KBS; a legendary barrel aged stout with complexity, absolute superb craftsmanship shown in every aspect of the brewing process while remaining incredibly approachable for any beer drinker. Each sip of the drinking experience is bliss. Pillorian = New Holland Dragon's Milk; a good barrel aged stout for sure but one that lacks the true artistry to make it a classic that drinkers will return to it over and over again. Dragon's Milk is not trying to be KBS just like Pillorian is not trying to be new Agalloch but at the same time they are so intertwined in the same realm that one must and should compare them. In the end Obsidian Arc is some good dark metal and at times great, see Archaen Divinity and The Vestige of Thorns. Haughm's classic tough is extremely apparent but it stays too close to the overall sound of Agalloch and it comes off as sort of Agalloch lite. Similar atmosphere but the songwriting, transitions, riffs and emotion is just not up to par. Obsidian Arc at times lacks life and it stagnates on the same ideas in many of the tracks. They take a pretty direct approach to a darkened (not quite black) metal schtick and remove much of the folk elements Haughm used to make use of so wonderfully. This puts a lot of pressure on the riffs to be amazing and some are but on the average they are good but not noteworthy.
Bump |
| 3.5 great | rafalafa | March 19th 17 |
It's not Agalloch, but it's a damn fine successor. I'm interested in where this band is going for sure.
Bump |
| 0.0 | quetzal | March 8th 17 |
John Haughm is back, better than anything from Agalloch in nearly a decade. AotY material. Might bump this up to a 5 with more listens. Nearly perfect album. Non-metalheads avoid, this is not for you.
Bump |
| 0.0 | zaruyache | March 7th 17 |
this sounds about as half-hearted as the last Agalloch album, albeit noticeably more metallic.
Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | sumyunguy | March 7th 17 |
Not sure what you jacknobs are talking about, this album fucking rules.
Bump |
| 2.5 average | Essence | March 2nd 17 |
easily the most boring direction that agalloch could have swung towards, not even the faint tinges of 'that' agalloch sound can bring these forgettable blackened death metal tracks back from the depths of mediocrity
Bump |
| 0.0 | SAPoodle | February 13th 17 |
Not feeling this at all, sadly. As mentioned by others, Agalloch's last album also bored me to tears so I didn't have particularly high hopes for this one but it turned out to be even more uninspired than that. Haughm's vocals have never sounded particularly menacing so I'm not digging the less prominent use of clean vocals or acoustic breaks. Just meh all over.
Bump |
| 3.0 good | Panzerchrist | February 9th 17 |
Doesn't really hit its stride until 'The Vestige of Thorns', but when it does, the songwriting becomes exponentially more interesting, challenging and varied. It's apparent that Agalloch founder John Haughm wanted to intertwine his previous band's long and sprawling songwriting with a darker and more insidious nature, and while he doesn't always hit the nail on the head, he more than lays the groundwork for far more fascinating material in the future. Worth checking into, though it does require some patience.
Recommended tracks: The Vestige of Thorns, A Stygian Pyre
Bump |
| 0.0 | Brandon Scott EMERITUS | February 9th 17 |
not sure why anyone was expecting anything from this considering the last two agalloch albums stink like a butt convention
Bump |
| 3.0 good | MistaCrave | February 9th 17 |
Only have listened to the first couple tracks, and I can't say I'm particularly excited to jam the
rest. Pretty much just sounds like Agalloch material further devolving with the uninspired,
aimless direction it had been taking.
Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | Hewitt | August 20th 24 |
| 3.5 great | Wizard | March 9th 23 |
| 3.5 great | hsb | May 19th 21 |
| 4.0 excellent | ariich | December 3rd 19 |
| 3.5 great | bmelt | April 9th 19 |
| 5.0 classic | Chuck | March 30th 19 |
| 3.0 good | Blurbs | March 15th 19 |
| 5.0 classic | Radex | October 29th 18 |
| 4.0 excellent | Sapee | July 25th 18 |
| 4.0 excellent | RAGG | June 28th 18 |
| 2.5 average | Alastor | January 3rd 18 |
| 4.5 superb | prouty | October 1st 17 |
| 3.5 great | Zecke | September 11th 17 |
| 4.0 excellent | YeeHaw | July 11th 17 |
| 4.0 excellent | mRA | June 30th 17 |
| 4.0 excellent | cb123 | May 6th 17 |
| 3.5 great | Pherin | April 22nd 17 |
| 4.0 excellent | Veldin | April 7th 17 |
| 4.0 excellent | Sunnyvale EMERITUS | March 25th 17 |
| 4.0 excellent | emmny | March 14th 17 |
| 3.5 great | Gbhill | March 12th 17 |
| 4.0 excellent | Jeejee | March 10th 17 |
| 4.0 excellent | Rodstar | March 3rd 17 |
| 2.5 average | Wolfe | February 9th 17 |
| 3.5 great | joitp | February 8th 17 |
| 2.5 average | Kyle Ward EMERITUS | February 8th 17 |
| 3.5 great | Dmax28 | February 7th 17 |
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