User Page: ivansfr0st

Having listened to all maudlin of the Well/Kayo Dot related albums, this was the only last one I heard. What I heard about the album wasn't fascinating at all: it was said to be a raw, badly written and producted release by an unexperienced group. I, however, didn't mind all the negative responses and got this album to hear what the music was like when it all started. Now, the first listen didn't seem quite promising: some parts seemed badly crafted, some too poppy, others just plain boring and unremarkable. It seemed right for me to blast Bath or Leaving Your Body Map instead at the time, which, frankly speaking, are easier to listen to and "get", yet still very deep. It wasn't until one day when I was in the mood for giving this album another listener and, fortunately, that time I "got" it and since then I listen to it just as much as its successors.

The sound of the recording is indeed raw(not in the "grim" Black Metal way though, don't worry), however, you can hear every instrument just right and the atmosphere doesn't seem to suffer from it at all, and the bad production rather makes its more gloomy, mysterious and, at other times, beautiful. The album kicks in with Ferocious Weights(by the way, it's Weights, not Heights, as listed in the site's database) , which is an especially atmospheric song with both beautiful female vocals, Toby Driver's clean singing, which surprisingly doesn't sound all that much worse if compared to latest efforts, nicely composed guitar parts in accompaniment with trumpets. The song can be called both doomy and gothic, without being any extreme, unlike a few other tracks on the album. There is a part that really remins me of King Crimson's more heavy complex stuff, which is never a bad thing. A ballsy guitar solo seems out of place at first, but I have got used to it ever since I understood that that's exactly the point to shift moods so often unpredictably. After all, after additional listens the solo seems kinda explained as far as the mood of the song goes, which, once again, proves the group's classification of being an Astral Metal group that uses signs from above to compose their music. The clean, quiet part in the end after the wicked solo is astonishing. The next track is A Conception Pathetic - the first track on the album where the more extreme of the group is shown. It begins with an infected growl of the singer named Byron(not to be confused with any other Byrons)and a marvellous tech-metal part. It then leads into another quiet part, this time even more memorable, quite possible my favourite here, for it touches me appropriatly. The heavy parts would be more precisely described as Progressive Doomy Post-Rock rather than Tech-Metal though. Undine and Underwater Flowers is the next song and is also the easiest one to listen, being gentle, nice and even weak. The first 4 minutes can be found a bit repetitive and poppy, but they give me the chills. The second half of the song is an instrumental section which wonders in the jazzy post-rockish field before going into the longest track on the album - The Ocean, The Kingdom, and the Temptation. This is one does not hurry anywhere and sets probably the most magnificent vibe out of all the tracks on the album. One of the parts of this epic sounds like it escaped from one of My Dying Bride's early records, such as As The Flower Withers and even earlier material of the British doomsters. Overall, this is one of the songs responsible for my position on calling this a Heavy Post-Rock record. Seriously, this is close to the type of music Pelican and Isis would be making a few years later. Pondering a Wall - the next track - has once again a remarkable atmosphere to it. I guess, if you've already heard Leaving Your Body Map, then you could say this is the album's Gleam In Ranks, starting eerie and leading into a noisy section. The last half of the song sounds a bit bizarre with Maria-Stella's unique singing. Toby does an unusual vocal performance as well. Catharsis of Sea Sleep and Dreaming Shines(it's Shines not Shrines)is my favourite song on the album and I can't help but go into comparisons again. The beginning sounds like something that would fit really well on Dan Swano's Moontower, which if my memory serves me correctly, was released the same year - "cookie monster" vocals meet a pretty melody. There is another MDB-ish part, which shows the impact they had on avant- garde metallers of the 90's(come on, why isn't My Dying Bride listed in this archive?). Blight of River Systems closes the album and it is my least favourite song on the record. The singing is too poppy for my tastes, the music is composed worse compared to the previous tracks, despite the great rhythm section. However, the two-minute guitar solo in the end literally saves the album from ending shamelessly. To me the album is, although not perfect, but close to perfection this song being the main fault. There is supposedly an 8th track on the CD, which has just whispering and giggling, so if you haven't got that one, don't worry as you're not missing much.

The inevitable conclusion, therefore, is that this is an excellent debut for the group that still had a lot to compose and will hopefully keep releasing amazing albums under the new name. This is not the best place to be introduced to the group's music. For beginners I suggest Bath for all listeners and Leaving Your Body Map for fans of more extreme music. However, no matter how much you enjoy either of the two, do not make the same mistake I did - do not underestimate this release. This could also be one of the first Post-Metal records to be releases ane the sound is surely unique. Moreover, I also have a feeling fans of Devin Townsend's Terria and Ocean Machine will absolutely love this album. Not an absolute masterpiece, but an excellent addition to any prog collection nonetheless, despite the inaccessibility.

Agalloch's first full-length album Pale Folklore, often underlooked even by the band's most hardcore followers, is more than just an outstanding debut. Utilizing influences from various sources, from 80's Gothic Rock to Ethnic Folk music, from Italian 70's Symphonic Prog to Norwegian 90's Black Metal's scene, and much much more, Agalloch managed to create a unique, extraordinary style of their own, achieving something nobody had achieved before. Opeth are famous(well, in our circles anyway)for combining two parts - mellow and heavy - to create a very special sound. Agalloch, whose influences were as diverse as Opeth's, from the fusion of all elements gained one sound that is very easy to recognise if you have experienced this amazing band.

The album starts with the atmospheric She Painted Fire Across The Skyline, consisting of three parts. The first part starts out slow and maybe a little repetitive, but sets the vibe of the album very well. Although Pale Folklore is more often dynamic, the mood of the album is melancholic from the beginning until the end. The melodic riff that starts at about 3:00 gives me chills everytime I hear it, it is also done again in the end of the third part of the epic track. I'm not sure which part is my favourite: I would tell this about the third part, but, unfotunately, it is ruined by the spoken vocals just before the 1:00 mark, which sounds out of place and, fortunately, is the only thing you can blame this masterpiece for, which doesn't make it any worse than it is, really. The forth track is an instrumental, in fact the only one on this record, and doesn't follow the pace of the whole work - it is gentle and nice, with piano's and flutes, a very sad instrumental indeed. I'm not going to describe every other track, because they are quite similiar, which is crucial in making an album a masterpiece, in my opinion, as having too many ideas for a group of musicians who, most of the time, can not turn them into one single idea, while not a disaster, often gives their music more faults; instead, I will just speak on the album as a whole.

The album has a specific mood and everything: the music, the instruments, the vocals and the lyrics follow it without a single failure, which I find remarkable. The vocals are something that I should speak on in the first place. Most of the singing on the album(about 90% probably)is harsh, and could be quite unusual to the ears of any listener, whether you are a classical progger, or a metalhead. However, although I say "harsh", don't get me wrong: there are no loud, over the top screams, which I also find fortunate, as any other style of singing would make the album less wonderful than it is. There is no virtuosity or plastics in the vocals, but just like I said, this vibe in music wouldn't go in foot with, say, Russell Allen(take no offense, heheh). The songwriting is inspiring from the beginning until the very last second, and for me is one of the finest examples of creativity and hearing in contemporary music. The riffs are all melodic and done to follow the mood set by the musicians, they flow into each other very well. I will be most likely wrong when I say this, but to me the riffs sound like what Iron Maiden would write if they were depressed all the time. A work of pure genius. The drumming is done very well for a group without a specific person as a drummer, and the bass work, which I can't hear all the time, maybe because of the flaws of production, maybe because I find it most advnetorous to listen to the record in headphones at about half of the maximum volume(which I recommend you too!). There is a rich amount of instrumental sections and whole parts, where musicians display their emotions instrumentally for the sake of displaying emotion not showing pretention or technical overkill. I have nothing against technical musicians, but in the case of this album, it is done perfect.

The conclusion, therefore, is that you don't have this album on your hands, you are missing out greatly. No matter what listener you are, Agalloch's Pale Folklore should be as dear and special to any listener, as it is to me. The album's successor, The Mantle is appreciated more widely, but personally I think that this is the best starting point for any intellectual and adventorous fan of music. Highly recommended, this is an essential masterpiece!

Revolutionary.

 

Turn Loose The Swans, the sophomore effort by My Dying Bride is an extremely unique album when considering its historical importance and the mind-boggling progression between this record and the debut As The Flower Withers. A dramatic change can is easily noticeable in that the group no longer plays the powerful Death/Doom exclusively, and has implemented such features that make their sound truly uncategorisable and impossible to put in whatever box you have got prepared for them. Martin Powell, now a full group colleague of the musicians, plays a greater role on this record, two of the seven total tracks lacking any heavy metal expression and consisting of gentle and melancholic violin and piano composition. In addition, he has become more brave in taking part in heavier sections, with the screeching, weeping violin sound that has been copied numerous times by now. 

The album is surrounded by a tragic, fatal aura, and the lyrics are extremely bleak and depressing, much like the music itself, dealing with loss, hatred and despair. Conversely, it is drastically different from the debut in that way that there is so much variety in the songwriting in virtually every single track that the listening experience becomes absolutely breathtaking, as there are all the moments that make the music worthwhile. The track lengths and compositional structure are very progressive, with the average song being roughly nine minutes long. A large number of tempo changes and unpredictable song progressions are involved, making the listening fascinating. If you add sincere emotion and almost a surrealistic, unconventional approach to expression and a unique aesthetic, it becomes less surprising that this album has such value.

The album has its intro  Sear Me Mcmxciii and outro in Black God, both of which lack the extreme tendencies and consist nothing but vocals, violin, piano and synth. The last track sounds like a requiem, with the minimalistic melody being repeated for around four minutes with spoken word, accompanied by a guest female vocalist. There is one particular line that stands out, which inspired a name for another project (Until Death Overtakes Me), and it is, in fact, so memorable that I feel like naming something after it as well. Other tracks combine crushing riffs with guttural growls complemented by vital parts with clean, moan-like singing and expressive, emotional instrumentation. Each track is solid and impressive for what it is, however, two songs deserve to be highlighted, that being Your River, that starts slowly and builds up until only around five minutes in the song vocals kick in and that is where it becomes even more fascinating. Another personal favourite is the 12-minute long The Crown Of Sympathy, containing no harsh vocals and having a very obscure, dark ambient-like section in the middle.

Turn Loose The Swans is one of the most powerful and intense musical experienced that can ever be suggested to anyone, and is not too inaccessible to avoid. It is a revolutionary album and without its existence, we would probably not have any exposure to such amazing Progressive acts as Opeth, Novembre, In The Woods..., Agalloch, maudlin of the Well, as well as other Toby Driver's projects, and countless other groups, who wouldn't have reached their respective culminative album if this album never existed. Its influence is not the main motive to buy it, however, as it does not sound dated and is still an urgent addition to anyone's collection.