Review Summary: Agalloch reinvent their sound again to create an album that takes a while to sink in
At the time that this album was released, Agalloch appeared to be unable to do anything wrong; they had three highly acclaimed albums behind them, most recently the magnificently powerful and graceful
Ashes Against the Grain. The most notable thing about their discography may be that each album seemed a complete departure from the last, yet still unmistakably still Agalloch. So, having focused on black, folk and post metal in turn, the question in everyone's mind when this came out was "what will they do now"?
Marrow of the Spirit's response to this question is somewhat elusive. The bleak introduction
And They Have Escaped the Weight of Darkness offers no answers, only a hint of how dark the rest of the album may be and a lot of suspense in anticipation of the next song. The album starts for real with
Into the Painted Grey, which immediately brings one of the album's defining characteristics to the forefront; the production. Marrow of the Spirit is a total departure from Ashes Against the Grain's expansive, accessible production, which gave every aspect of the music its own space and resulted in a polished, but not overly so, sound. Here, however, the entire mix is compressed into a focused wall of sound that emphasizes the dark, twisted nature of the music. The drums are unusually high in the mix, which - coupled with the aggressive, powerful nature of new recruit Aesop Dekker's drumming - allows the album to maintain a purposeful driving feeling throughout its length.
In terms of actual music,
Into the Painted Grey is more or less a red herring, since - aside from exhibiting the production - it bears little relation to the rest of the album in terms of sound; it is one of the heaviest songs the band has ever written, showcasing their black metal elements nicely. From the frenzied intro to the catchy guitar leads to an excellent vocal performance from John Haughm, the song remains engaging throughout its 12 minute running time and is highly recommended.
The next song,
The Watcher's Monolith is the defining song of the album. It's not the best, but it represents it as a whole better than the other songs, since it is basically a mix of all the other songs' main elements; it has some moments similar to the frantic
Into the Painted Grey, some moments of desparation like
Black Lake Nidstangand some upbeat, folky moments that nod towards
Ghosts of the Midnight Fires. Due to its variety of atmospheres, it sounds slightly less focused than the other songs, but makes a good listen nethertheless.
The colossal
Black Lake Nidstang is considered by many to be the album's pinnacle, and whether or not this is true, it remains a powerful experience. Despite its 17 minute running time, it doesn't drag at any point; it is cohesive and keeps the listener engaged throughout because - unlike most songs of similar lengths, which tend to be split into several parts - it was written as a single piece of music. Whereas other bands might have written this so that it felt like an intro plus a verse plus a riff plus a bridge plus an outro, Agalloch have very successfully composed it so that it feels like a song that happens to be very long. Musically, it leans much more towards doom than the other songs, whilst retaining the folk elements and including an ambient interlude towards the end. The atmospheres are unbelieveably bleak and desperate, even moreso than usual, resulting in a truely harrowing experience. It's not a masterpiece, but you can tell that they did their absolute best.
Ghosts of the Midnight Fires has a vibe that may well be completely alien to Agalloch fans; it sounds genuinely upbeat and optimistic. This time, the music is predominantly folk-based, but whereas this normally implies grandoise and mournful with Agalloch, it is almost cheerful here. The song is energetic throughout and the most accessible moment of the album; I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a place to start here. I don't consider
To Drown to be a full song, despite its length, as much as a glorified, heavily post-rock based outro. This first half is composed of mournful acoustics and whispered vocals that then builds up during the second half into a menacing, violin-driven climax that concludes the album on a very sombre note.
So, Agalloch have released an album made up, speaking generally, a black metal song, a doom epic, an upbeat folk song, a song that combines all three and a post-rock closer. The complex structures, large durations and odd production of each song makes it difficult to digest, requiring a few listens to really absorb. It is let down by the overly compressed mix and a lack of cohesion; each song stands resolutely independant of the other tracks and the only thing shared between them is a bleak atmosphere (although
Ghosts of the Midnight Fires doesn't even have this) and the common ground of
The Watcher's Monolith. Consequentially, the album seems to lack direction as a whole, as each componant is doing something different. Also, although all the songs are at least good, there is nothing here that comes close to being as amazing as, for example,
Not Unlike the Waves, or other previous album highlights (apart from maybe
Into the Painted Grey). Agalloch did their best on this album, and came up with a solid release that is inevitably somewhat underwhelming in the context of their past.
Pros
Interesting songwriting
Excellent atmospheres
Musicianship and vocals are great
Cons
Production
Lack of cohesion
Fairly inacessible
Top 5
1. Into the Painted Grey
2. Ghosts of the Midnight Fires
3. Black Lake Nidstang
4. To Drown
5. The Watcher's Monolith
