Agalloch - The Mantle

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Free Music Notes for The Mantle

Free Music Review: A Bleak, Epic, Folksy-Metal Epic Journey Like No other
Hit: 5 Stars

In this CD, the vocals are mostly clean unlike their first release. Haughm has one of the most unique and best singing voices I've ever heard, very dark and calm, yet powerful and majestic. There are also harsh raspy black-metal style vocals, which are also done well and fit the mood well, but this is not really black metal at all. When those types of vocals are juxtaposed to a soft acoustic strumming, it is a wonderfully unique experience.

The CD starts out with a nice introduction with acoustic guitars and transforms into the 15-minute epic "In the Shadow of Our Pale Companion." This song's vocal arrangements, singing and screeching overlapped right on top of one another, sounds quite good. The same acoustic strumming is repeated for a while (you will not be able to stop tapping your fingers/feet.) Throughout the rest of the song there are epic, chilling solos, quiet acoustic breaks, incredible climaxes, quick theme changes, adventurous, rudimental marching-band style drumming (don't make weird faces - it sounds perfect when you hear it) and continues on and on, until it slowly fades out.

Next comes the incredible instrumental track "Odal" which just sends shivers down my spine every time. This is probably the best instrumental song I've EVER heard. It is made with mostly crystal-clear strumming acoustic guitars and shifting, electric guitar riffing in the background. It has more rudimental drumming, layered, magnificent, enchanting guitar playing, majestic climaxes, an incredible, surreal, imaginational atmosphere, and a soft, echoed piano outro. This song could not be more perfect.

"Odal" slowly drifts away until the double bass tears the atmosphere apart. "I am the Wooden Doors" begins and it is probably the most aggressive song on the album. It has Heavy drumming, fast and heavy guitars, and screeched vocals. If you'd like this CD more for the folksy acoustic guitars and breathtaking instrumentals, this will most likely be the only song you don't enjoy. But there are still the folk-inspired acoustic guitars underneath all the chaos. Then the song suddenly falls apart into a short but marvelous acoustic solo with two guitars and nothing else, and goes right back to the heaviness.

"The Lodge" is another chilling acoustic instrumental track with more upright bass and acoustic strumming. It really gives you the feeling of venturing through a snowy forest, with its "deer antler" percussion and sounds of someone trudging through deep snow.

"You Were But a Ghost in My Arms" is an emotionally grim song with mostly harsh vocals. Haughm's vocal melodies are mind-blowing and extremely powerful with the singing, and dark and forbidding with the screeching. This song contains some of my favorite lyrics ever. They contain so much imagery and paint an amazing atmosphere, and might as well be poetry. This song is pretty heavy too, but this isn't your ordinary metal band.

That song fades out and "The Hawthorne Passage" starts off quickly with the same melody with finger-tappingly good drumming. This is a 10-minute entirely instrumental track, and keeps shifting themes throughout the song countless times, with upbeat parts and more relaxed parts. It also includes some samples: some talking and some sound effects to add to the environment.

"And the Great Cold Death of the Earth" is probably the most accessible or most memorable song, and certainly more upbeat after hearing the vast song before it. It is catchy, has mostly singing, and a slightly more basic song structure. The bridge in this song even has some trumpets, and also uses upright bass, which sounds spectacular. It contains the exact melodies found in the first short instrumental track, and ends with those melodies just like how it started with them. That would make a perfect ending but there's still another song that establishes an even better ending.

And finally we have "A Desolation Song", a very sad song but a good way to close the album. It uses some unique instruments such as the mandarin and accordion, soft half-whispered vocals, and some straightforward acoustic strumming. For this song I picture going into an old log cabin after a long day out in the cold and relaxing by the fire and drinking something hot.

This CD could get you interested in a lot of other bands and is very interesting itself. I can't get enough of it. Everyone should give it a try even if you don't like metal at all but if you are just interested in bands with a unique feeling in their music and a lot of talent. There aren't that many harsh vocals, it has a nice variety, and combines many different genres together and forms them into the band's own unique sound. I've had this for about a year now, because it's only been out that long, and I consider it my 3rd favorite CD of all time. Agalloch has really helped broaden my musical taste and shape it into what it is today. And after all this time there is still more in this album to discover. It just gives me a feeling like no other album has before.

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