Agalloch - is it over?

[Hubster]

From their FB page early this morning:

"Following 20 years, 5 full length albums, many tours around the world, and numerous other recordings, John Haughm and the rest of the band (Don Anderson, Jason Walton, and Aesop Dekker) have parted ways. What the future holds for the separate parties remains undetermined. We collectively thank all of our fans across the world. There are also way too many other people to thank who made this band possible. You know who you are."

"After being inundated by a barrage of responses, I feel that I should clarify some things. I take full responsibility for the decision to part ways with the other guys. It was difficult, well thought-out, and something that had been culminating over the past couple of years. I simply could not continue any further with the band as it was. I had to make a change as my motivation and inspiration had started to completely deteriorate. Whether this is the permanent end of Agalloch altogether or a possible fresh start, I don't know. I probably won't know for awhile. The band has simply been reduced back to its founding, visionary member for the first time in 20 years. Beyond that, the future is unknown.

- J. Haughm"

 

[EspaDa]

Their creativity has also started to deteroriate within a few past years.

 

[Hubster]

Their creativity has also started to deteroriate within a few past years.

Sadly I have to agree.

 

[Master_Yoda77]

Yeah it's over.

 

[Draehl]

Yep. I'd be more upset if they broke up before releasing Serpent, but after seeing their direction/quality it's less of a blow IMO. Marrow wasn't amazing, but listenable. Those first 3 albums though are masterpieces. Sad to see them go, but maybe we'll see some decent spin off material from individual members.

 

[Pitiless Wanderer]

the last album was just awful. it was clear that something was wrong even the past few years.

 

[crimsonfloyd]

That makes me sad, as they are one of my favorite bands. The Mantle is one of my all time favorite albums and one that deeply resonates with me personally. It communicates the condition of modern man with profound clarity. I have so many amazing moments with thay record, including walking along a riverbed in Eugene Oregon in the snow, waking up on train crossing a snowy mountain range, and shrooming in the forests of Santa Cruz and reflecting on the relationship between man and nature.

PF and MotS are also masterpieces, and AAtG, while not quite on the same level, is still great. However, SatS was by far their weakest album, and I'd rather they quit too soon than too late.

I got the privilege of seeing them live four times, including when theY toured for the Mantle in a small bar in San Francisco when I was 18. Actually, their tour manager heard me lamenting about missing the show because of my age on this message and snuck me into the show.

 

[unknown]

I can't help but read Haughm's followup message as rather pretentious...like he was the only one in the band creating the music

 

[rms]

Agalloch and pretentious..weird

 

[Hubster]

I can't help but read Haughm's followup message as rather pretentious...like he was the only one in the band creating the music

But we all knew he was like that since the get-go. It's part of his musical charm tbh.

Yep. I'd be more upset if they broke up before releasing Serpent, but after seeing their direction/quality it's less of a blow IMO. Marrow wasn't amazing, but listenable. Those first 3 albums though are masterpieces. Sad to see them go, but maybe we'll see some decent spin off material from individual members.

Tbh for me I began to lose interest after Ashes Against The Grain, albeit, I LOVED The White EP. But after that... the rest of the discography just didn't seem to work.

 

[unknown]

Statement from Don Anderson


Dear Everyone,
Usually statements like these open with expressions of gratitude for the fans, friends, colleagues, and people we’ve worked with. There is a sort of form to the break-up letter that long-running bands produce: “thanks everyone that has supported us over the years, bought our records, came to our shows,” and so forth. Then the apologies arrive from fans, friends, and family members: “we’re so sorry to hear this. We hope you are ok.” But, I can’t start like that—it seems too mechanical. I can’t start that way because it is I who should apologize to all of you.

I am sorry you won’t ever hear new music from Agalloch. I am sorry our fans in Latin America, China, Russia, Japan, Australia, will never see us play. I’m sorry I won’t personally meet many of you after a show and talk about music, movies, school, and share a shot of bourbon. I’m really, really sorry because I had every intention of continuing.
This was not my decision.
I did not want this.
I still maintain it was not necessary.

I’m sorry it had to be this way. I am personally devastated and have not felt this level of grief since my father passed away ten years ago. So, if you are sad, upset, pissed, or bitter—I share these feelings with you. I know Agalloch deeply touched a lot of people. And I honor that by grieving in solidarity with all of you. Agalloch was an incalculable part of my identity and I’ll be walking as half a man for some time now.

I want to thank many people. I am terrified of forgetting anyone as my mind isn’t all that clear today. So, for now, I really want to thank the fans from the bottom of my heart. My favorite activity was meeting all of you after a gig, or before a gig. The spiritual connection you and I shared during a show was the closest I, an atheist, have ever felt to God. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

You might think our music helped you through the dark times in your lives, but all along you were helping me avoid the darkness.

Sincerely,
Don Anderson
New York, May 14, 2016

 

[unknown]

Tbh for me I began to lose interest after Ashes Against The Grain, albeit, I LOVED The White EP. But after that... the rest of the discography just didn't seem to work.

I thought Faustian Echoes was pretty solid, despite it being only one song

 

[Omni]

Oh well. That's a bit sad for the fans. I used to listen to them a lot during the time period around when I joined this site. I plan to listen to Marrow if the Spirit at some point.

 

[Hubster]

Statement from Don Anderson


Dear Everyone,
Usually statements like these open with expressions of gratitude for the fans, friends, colleagues, and people we’ve worked with. There is a sort of form to the break-up letter that long-running bands produce: “thanks everyone that has supported us over the years, bought our records, came to our shows,” and so forth. Then the apologies arrive from fans, friends, and family members: “we’re so sorry to hear this. We hope you are ok.” But, I can’t start like that—it seems too mechanical. I can’t start that way because it is I who should apologize to all of you.

I am sorry you won’t ever hear new music from Agalloch. I am sorry our fans in Latin America, China, Russia, Japan, Australia, will never see us play. I’m sorry I won’t personally meet many of you after a show and talk about music, movies, school, and share a shot of bourbon. I’m really, really sorry because I had every intention of continuing.
This was not my decision.
I did not want this.
I still maintain it was not necessary.

I’m sorry it had to be this way. I am personally devastated and have not felt this level of grief since my father passed away ten years ago. So, if you are sad, upset, pissed, or bitter—I share these feelings with you. I know Agalloch deeply touched a lot of people. And I honor that by grieving in solidarity with all of you. Agalloch was an incalculable part of my identity and I’ll be walking as half a man for some time now.

I want to thank many people. I am terrified of forgetting anyone as my mind isn’t all that clear today. So, for now, I really want to thank the fans from the bottom of my heart. My favorite activity was meeting all of you after a gig, or before a gig. The spiritual connection you and I shared during a show was the closest I, an atheist, have ever felt to God. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

You might think our music helped you through the dark times in your lives, but all along you were helping me avoid the darkness.

Sincerely,
Don Anderson
New York, May 14, 2016

Daaaamn. He REALLY sounds gutted.

I guess more details of how this all happened will surface soon enough.

 

[PhlegethonVeins]

Marrow of the Spirit and Faustian Echo's were still both really solid material in my book. The Serpent and the Sphere was the step off for me.

Don does sound pretty broke up over this, though. =/

 

[suckerleaf]

That makes me sad, as they are one of my favorite bands. The Mantle is one of my all time favorite albums and one that deeply resonates with me personally. It communicates the condition of modern man with profound clarity. I have so many amazing moments with thay record, including walking along a riverbed in Eugene Oregon in the snow, waking up on train crossing a snowy mountain range, and shrooming in the forests of Santa Cruz and reflecting on the relationship between man and nature.

PF and MotS are also masterpieces, and AAtG, while not quite on the same level, is still great. However, SatS was by far their weakest album, and I'd rather they quit too soon than too late.

I got the privilege of seeing them live four times, including when theY toured for the Mantle in a small bar in San Francisco when I was 18. Actually, their tour manager heard me lamenting about missing the show because of my age on this message and snuck me into the show.

The connection between the album and the experiences you described was a pretty cool vicarious moment for me. Hope that doesn't sound too weird! I just know so many people for whom music just kind of provides a mere filler, almost like white noise for sleeping. That they never really have profound experiences relating to music is so strange to me.

 

[Master_Yoda77]

That's a pretty fucking classy and well-written response by Don Anderson. I don't think I'll ever forget yelling at him after their MDF set and we talked about academia and literature. He asked me what era I focused on and I said Renaissance and he immediately knew that I was fucking insane haha.

 

[Funerary_Doom]

Dang, I felt bad reading Don's status. I like Agalloch. I've seen them live about three times and own a few albums. They were a major influence to that style of BM for sure. They are probably going to start reissuing a lot of their albums now. My Pale Folklore would no longer be rare.

 

[dwellerINTHEdark]

Saw them live a couple years ago. I was not impressed. But yeah they kick ass in the studio.

 

[unknown]

Dang, I felt bad reading Don's status. I like Agalloch. I've seen them live about three times and own a few albums. They were a major influence to that style of BM for sure. They are probably going to start reissuing a lot of their albums now. My Pale Folklore would no longer be rare.

They've reissued the first three albums on vinyl