Ashes Against the Grain

I found it immensely sad when I knew Agalloch was no more. A longtime fan of what I consider one of the best metal bands in the history of American metal, this side of the century, I felt pretty disappointed in John Haughm's farewell letter, especially the part in which he stressed that he was the sole visionary force behind Agalloch. And while that statement might be true, diminishing the contributions and roles of the rest of the members was something totally unnecessary and tasteless. A bitter breakup, which might actually be fitting for the emotions this band used to convey to its listeners, but ultimately undesired by its fans. I started listening to them when Ashes Against the Grain, their third studio LP, was their newest material, and I was immediately amazed and hooked. Even when I eventually found their colossal sophomore The Mantle to be their perfect, ultimate masterpiece, this one isn't pretty far in quality, discarding some of the folksy flavor of the previous album for a more post-rockish aesthetic.

“Limbs” is the 9-minute opener, starting magnificently this record as a brilliant, mournful instrumental piece of post-metal melodies with heavy doom riffing and a funeral march pace for its first three minutes, before a small folksy calm part takes the subsequent minute. Another set of heavy riffs reappears at the 4:20 minute mark but John Haughm's emotive, signature throat-ripping black rasps make their entrance past the 5-minute mark, backed up with pissed off doom riffs. This is one of the strongest compositions here, with some great breaks between sections that deal quite an emotional blow. Agalloch were indeed one of the metal bands I believe were capable of a stronger emotive reach with their music, those emotions being mostly anger, despair and sadness. Therefore, this band has often been written off as a soft, watered down version of black metal by the tough guy & trve hordes within metal, but I'm a preponderant defender of variety within all forms of art and despise the elitist concept of “purity”. That doesn't mean I can withstand and enjoy something as lackluster as Disturbed, mind you, but I can certainly put this album on the same echelons of greatness as Windir's 1184 or Borknagar's The Olden Domain.

Getting back to the album, the second track is another highlight, even if its structure is decidedly straightforward. “Falling Snow” has become of the band's most beloved tunes and that can be owed to the fact it is the most accessible composition here, and probably of their entire discography, despite a 9-minute duration. On this one the riffs are arguably more akin to post-punk than to metal, especially towards the end of the tune when the tempo is sped up a bit. Another highlight, on par with the initial one-two punch is track number 4, “Not Unlike the Waves”, yet another 9-minute piece of excellence that features the heavier set of riffs of the whole record, and some of its catchiest as well. This is a song I like to use as a solid argument when someone says Agalloch is not heavy or metal enough, as I'm thinking: “Let’s see if you smartasses can compose riffs like this!” Nothing too complex perhaps, but enough hard-hitting as to call it crushing. The way the powerful ice-clear melodies combined with the grimier rhythmic doomy riffs is something that remains superb to this day, a quality that sat Agalloch apart for similar styled acts across the globe in its first decade of existence before several new-coming clones tried to ape their sound (to no great success, thankfully).

The rest of the tracks are pretty solid as well, if a bit less stellar to my ears but outstanding nonetheless. The first two parts of the closing epic, “Our Fortress is Burning” reclaim some of the folky aspects of The Mantle, and even when the song is divided into three chapters, it is mostly an instrumental track, the first and the last being entirely without vocals, while the second installment featuring Haughm's voice well past half the tune. And so, we reach the only weak point of this album and the reason why I consider this just not as good as its predecessor and a bit shy of perfection; the third part of “Our Fortress is Burning”. It consists in seven minutes of ambient noise music. A heavily textured piece and the conclusion to the whole record itself, while gloomy and atmospheric there's just nothing legit that justifies a 7-minute duration. After all, it is called noise for a reason. I listened to this final track the first two or three times I listened to the whole LP, but I stopped doing it a long time ago, and nowadays I just skip it, no hesitation.

Ronn Chick's co-production and mixing work, along with Haughm's, gave this album a MASSIVE sound, no mattering if it's the whole band pounding it or just a few acoustic guitar notes amidst the black silence. The heavier side of the band's sound crushes with might, while the eerie, sorrowful melodies are as clear as ravens silhouetted amidst a greyish sky. This sounds SUPREME all the time. That being coupled with another classy, semi-abstract cover artwork gave us one of the best albums released 10 years ago, a masterpiece of the combined genius of Don Anderson, Chris Greene, Jason Walton and John Haughm. It would cement Agalloch as one of the greatest bands of its generation and period, despite not being a band for every metalhead's taste. But in the end, does the genre matter, or is it the music quality the important issue? For me it has always been the second. It's too sad that Agalloch exist no more, and a reunion of all their influent members seems distant, if possible, but their legacy will remain long after our bones have turned to ashes.

“The snow has fallen and raised this white mountain on which you will die
and fade away in silence…”