Agalloch
Pale Folklore

THE REVIEW

Stunning debut album for the extraordinary Agalloch, an American band from Oregon, a land full of forests and ancient redwoods ("Agalloch" is the ancient name for a type of redwood). And it is precisely the love for these forests (and for nature in general) that is one of the main themes of the album, to which a healthy dose of melancholy and introspection is added.

The band is (from my point of view) one of the best metal groups around, thanks to the innovative combination of doom and gothic (think of Katatonia) with purely folk sounds (in the style of Opeth). This mix is present in its most complete form in the reviewed "Pale Folklore" (released in 1999) rather than in the other 2 albums of the band ("The Mantle" more oriented towards folk and "Ashes Against the Grain" which also features post-rock sounds).

On a backdrop of wind, a slow and melancholic arpeggio appears, which gradually grows in intensity until it becomes a powerful riff on which the drums and bass are overlaid. This is the beginning of "She Painted Fire Across the Skyline," a long suite of almost 19 minutes that occupies the first 3 tracks of the album. It is followed by a slower part where John Haughm's unique singing (halfway between a black metal scream and a whisper) appears, contrasted by a gentle female vocalization (a device that the band will no longer use). The second part of the suite opens with an ethereal acoustic guitar arpeggio followed by a more violent part culminating in a long guitar solo before returning to calm again. The third part opens with a fast and melodic riff at the same time and for a few seconds John recites the text with his normal voice before returning to the scream. Notable in the central part of the track is the use of the tolling of a bell to accompany the guitar and the piano closure before the return of the wind.

After this first stunning collage of sounds, one might expect a decline in the album, which instead does not happen. In fact, after the symphonic instrumental "The Mishapen Steed" we encounter the 10 minutes of "Hallways of Enchanted Ebony", a track that starts directly with the main riff, on which another slower and meditative riff crosses, which remains very fast for almost its entire duration, except for the last 2 minutes. "Dead Winter Days" doesn't stray much from what has been said, in which, however, the guitar has a greater role, enriching the composition with its countless solos. Conversely, "AS Embers Dress the Sky" (already present in the demo "From Which of this Oak") features a beautiful acoustic guitar insert that splits the track in half, which opens and closes with the usual evocative electric guitars. The album closes with another suite, this time 12 minutes long, "The Melancholy Spirit", where the folk component emerges even more than in the other tracks. The text is something spectacular: an invocation to the beloved queen of the woods and the desire to see her again once more.

In short, a sensational debut, incredibly evocative and full of surreal and dreamy sounds.

RATING=9