Agalloch formed in the mid to late 1990's as a studio project of sorts and have actually maintained that distinction for the most part, as they seem to play very infrequently and undertake little touring.
Ashes Against the Grain is the third full-length from this outfit and represents a further evolution in their recorded output.
"Limbs" opens with a reserved key intro. The band then explodes to join in. When the band calms down for a brief moment the key part is just the right instrumentation for the mood that Agalloch sets. The intensity builds in a way that tugs at the listeners' emotion. The climax is a bit more reserved than I would have liked. The vocals are a bit out of place; they have a black metal inspired quality. They don't stand up to the quality of the music displayed on this song. I do enjoy the abrupt ending to the song. "Falling Snow" again has a reserved quality. The music reminds me of a more relaxed, less metal European metal arrangement. The instrumentation is very tight and crisp. Again, the vocals just do not fit the music. The slightly upbeat but still gloomy mood is very interesting. The tones of the guitar leads have a rather dream-like quality. The clean vocals that are utilized for a short period of time fit the music much better. I definitely like the clean vocals much better than the usual growled vocals that are more often used.
"The White Mountain on Which You Will Die" is aptly named. The music affects an open feel to it, especially in the beginning. It is an excellent transitory piece for "Fire Above, Ice Below," which has a very stark tone in the guitars. I am glad to hear the clean vocals in use hear. The feel of the song is excellent and Agalloch does not rush the arrangement. The whispering growl vocals kind of kill parts of the song for me though, which otherwise is excellent. I do like the manner that the band seamlessly transitions into "Not Unlike the Waves." It works very well. The acoustic guitar has a great sound to it. This song does not have the imagination that say, "Limbs" has. The energy level is also rather low. The recording is just to even keel with a real lack of tonal variation. The three "Our Fortress is Burning..." tracks have a quiet mood. Most of the arrangements for these three tracks are little more inventive than what can be found on the rest of Ashes Against the Grain. I wish that they were all completely instrumental because I enjoyed the music minus the vocals very much.
Agalloch's Ashes Against the Grain is a decent record. The songs are pretty good for the most part. The song arrangements vary in quality with some being rather excellent to some being mostly lackluster and mundane. I do not care for the black metal influenced vocals at all and feel that they are out of place on the record. When compared to the cleaner vocals, the black metal-esque vocals pale in comparison. The musicianship is excellent, and Agalloch can really play. To me, it is obvious that they are more a studio band than a live band. The song arrangements aren't expressive enough to be interesting in a live situation. The recording itself really lacks tone variation and sounds extremely even keeled. This makes a lot of the record kind of run together and requires some concentration to discern the subtle differences in the some of the songs. For the most part, this is a fairly decent record and considering the reputation for change that this band has from record to record, I would be interested in hearing their next one.
