AGALLOCH - The Serpent And The Sphere
- Thread starter Dick Sirloin
- Start date
Couldn't disagree more. It's mind-numbingly boring. The production is also not "huge" it's just that the bass is mixed way too high.
Hmmm. I thought the song writing is great on it. If you said the above about the last two full lengths, I'd have been more inclined to agree. The drumming definitely feels tighter than on "Marrow...", the songs are more intricate and aggressive than on "Ashes..." and far more melodic than "Faustian Echoes." That's why I like it but hey, it's still early on. Cover art is underwhelming though.
I've only been listening on computer speakers (gasp) so all the low end is rolled off. You could be right about the mix.
MFJ
Active Member
Reign in Acai
Of Elephant and Man
Going to crack open a Stone Russian Imperial and listen to this album like a civilized gent. (When it arrives)
NAD
What A Horrible Night To Have A Curse
Mine arrived today, and I'm most of the way through the first listen right now, with a glass of vaguely above average Spanish wine in hand/mouth.
I honestly don't know what to think. Never felt this way about a new Agalloch release, not sure if that is a good or bad thing. We shall see I suppose.
I honestly don't know what to think. Never felt this way about a new Agalloch release, not sure if that is a good or bad thing. We shall see I suppose.
Reign in Acai
Of Elephant and Man
Same. After three listens, the only song that is rocking my socks is The Astral Dialogue. I'll give it ample spins surely enough, but fear it may fall into "why would i listen to this over The Mantle or Pale Folklore?" trap. 
Ellestin
one-click buy
Same could be said of Marrow of the Spirit and it’s a wonderful album in its own right. The new one is a bit on the heavier (doom-ish?) side but the band’s natural aura and songwriting quality come through unscarred imo. Only grudge I have with it would be the ending of the final track, which should been something more majestic or at least “special”. This album lacks a “Bloodbirds”.
Krilons Resa
Jerry's married?!
Just like every release after Ashes, I'm not even gonna bother. That lil bag of ashes was insulting. I wanted a fucking bone, damnit.
Just like every release after Ashes, I'm not even gonna bother. That lil bag of ashes was insulting. I wanted a fucking bone, damnit.
That's what she said
/pointlessscontribution
dorian gray
Returning videotapes
- Apr 8, 2004
- 21,258
- 489
- 83
General Zod
Ruler of Australia
I mostly agree. Despite the fact that I have bothered with each subsequent release, and even blind purchased the White EP, nothing since Ashes has interested me at all, including the new disc.
NAD
What A Horrible Night To Have A Curse
Well I'm still not sure if I even like it, but I keep listening to it. So that is a good sign. There is a definite charm here, in all its plodding, downer glory. I'll keep going, why not?
I still maintain that The White and Faustian Echoes are up there with The Mantle and Pale Folklore. To have 4 near masterpieces from one band is pretty god damn impressive.
I still maintain that The White and Faustian Echoes are up there with The Mantle and Pale Folklore. To have 4 near masterpieces from one band is pretty god damn impressive.
J.
Old Fart
mine came in today. i'll give a listen tomorrow.
over time, the mantle has lost its luster. it just seems overlong and dull in a lot of places. PF is still supreme. Ashes has aged very well, and i turn to that one more often. i still like OSWaP a lot, but Faustian Echoes surpassed it. that is a stunning piece of work.
The White sucks.
over time, the mantle has lost its luster. it just seems overlong and dull in a lot of places. PF is still supreme. Ashes has aged very well, and i turn to that one more often. i still like OSWaP a lot, but Faustian Echoes surpassed it. that is a stunning piece of work.
The White sucks.
NAD
What A Horrible Night To Have A Curse
Agreed about Ashes Against the Grain. I didn't love that one until 5 years after the fact.
The more I listen, the more this one is growing on me. I feel compelled to put it on a lot.
I suspect that The White only appeals to fans of The Wicker Man. And for us, it is glorious.
The more I listen, the more this one is growing on me. I feel compelled to put it on a lot.
I suspect that The White only appeals to fans of The Wicker Man. And for us, it is glorious.
Reign in Acai
Of Elephant and Man
After 8 listens, the songs no longer meander. Quite enjoying it on my commute to work, aka the March to Bataan.
NAD
What A Horrible Night To Have A Curse
This album rules immensely. I was so very, very wrong. 
like mad.
http://www.discogs.com/marketplace?release_id=5702534&ev=rb
^^^Anybody know about this? I messaged the label for $$$ requirements.
like mad.http://www.discogs.com/marketplace?release_id=5702534&ev=rb
^^^Anybody know about this? I messaged the label for $$$ requirements.
Ellestin
one-click buy
einride
your best friend
- Feb 29, 2008
- 7,449
- 938
- 113
is it possible that an album can be well-made, respectable, musically interesting and impressive, yet unnecessary? because i think maybe this is an album like that. it's Good Music, well-made etc. -- but lacks spirit and emotion. and this is a problem because spirit and emotion is the only true thing agalloch has ever had. they have not needed to prog it up with syncopations and weird chord progressions because no matter how many 6/8 ulver beats and mundane Am Em C G progressions they played, it always felt like they Meant It.
at first (after hearing celestial effigy a couple of times -- with the melancholy spirit pastiche in the verses and all that) i was afraid that the album was going to be self-parody and bleak rehashing of old glories, but now that i've heard the full thing a number of times: that judgement partly stands with regards to that particular track, but it turns out that the rest of the album may be too much of the opposite -- like they really try very hard to avoid using the same chord progressions and tones and ideas that they've done in the past and to do new things, and it ends up sounding forced and too far out of their comfort zone.
people say the album is samey and plodding and i don't know what the hell they're talking about. they've got the romantic death-doom thing going on in the first track as if channelling SHAPE OF DESPAIR, then "the astral dialogue" is -- surprisingly enough -- melo-death (about 80% of this song is something i would have expected from IN THY DREAMS or another second-rate gothenburg band in 1997 or so. and don't get me wrong, i love that stuff, but i'm not sure agalloch really needed to go there), the beginning of "vales" is all but a total neurosis ripoff and then we've got the tired post-rock meanderings of "plateau" that i'm sure work well live but go nowhere real fast on record. and let's not forget the forest-folk interludes, which are very good but 1) not actually agalloch and 2) an ill fit with the spacey thing they attempt on the rest of the numbers. no, this album isn't samey, it does a million styles, but i'm not sure it masters any of them or manages to meld them into a cohesive whole.
the mix is generally pretty good but there's something wrong with the vocals. sometimes they're way too up front (the astral dialogue) while still having no real impact, sometimes they waver in and out of the mix -- rarely do they seem to find a natural place. also, this tiresome DR6 shit. album is far too compressed and gets tiring to listen to. sad thing that agalloch has finally fallen completely into this trap after years of being on the acceptable side.
so instead of something like "marrow", which had a shit mix, awful mastering, and some of the worst drumming this side of judas iscariot, but DID have fire and feeling, we get this -- intelligently and ambitiously composed, proficiently played and mixed -- but i'm not Feeling It In My Soul. which is a shame.
agalloch made themselves a name writing like no other about dismal mourning, melancholy spirits, oaken citadels, ebon hallways, iron gates, wooden doors, vast forests and whatnot. in this manner they made "pale folklore", a record that -- sure! -- may be naïve, but had so much fucking fire, compositional brilliance, atmosphere and confidence that in my big book of music it still stands as #1 Literally The Best Album Ever In The History Of The Earth. a bunch of americans out-forested us. fuck! yes, i do understand that people are not teenagers anymore and that themes get worn out. but now it's as if they're unsure where to go. maybe if we write about space? or goethe? whatever it is, i'm not convinced -- just by hearing the music and reading the lyrics -- that the thing they're doing now is something they TRULY FEEL IN THE DEPTHS OF THEIR BEING NEEDS TO BE SAID. no hearts are bleeding, no sleepless nights, no real desire to bathe in the blood of mankind. and if you're not feeling that, why are you making music?
7/10
at first (after hearing celestial effigy a couple of times -- with the melancholy spirit pastiche in the verses and all that) i was afraid that the album was going to be self-parody and bleak rehashing of old glories, but now that i've heard the full thing a number of times: that judgement partly stands with regards to that particular track, but it turns out that the rest of the album may be too much of the opposite -- like they really try very hard to avoid using the same chord progressions and tones and ideas that they've done in the past and to do new things, and it ends up sounding forced and too far out of their comfort zone.
people say the album is samey and plodding and i don't know what the hell they're talking about. they've got the romantic death-doom thing going on in the first track as if channelling SHAPE OF DESPAIR, then "the astral dialogue" is -- surprisingly enough -- melo-death (about 80% of this song is something i would have expected from IN THY DREAMS or another second-rate gothenburg band in 1997 or so. and don't get me wrong, i love that stuff, but i'm not sure agalloch really needed to go there), the beginning of "vales" is all but a total neurosis ripoff and then we've got the tired post-rock meanderings of "plateau" that i'm sure work well live but go nowhere real fast on record. and let's not forget the forest-folk interludes, which are very good but 1) not actually agalloch and 2) an ill fit with the spacey thing they attempt on the rest of the numbers. no, this album isn't samey, it does a million styles, but i'm not sure it masters any of them or manages to meld them into a cohesive whole.
the mix is generally pretty good but there's something wrong with the vocals. sometimes they're way too up front (the astral dialogue) while still having no real impact, sometimes they waver in and out of the mix -- rarely do they seem to find a natural place. also, this tiresome DR6 shit. album is far too compressed and gets tiring to listen to. sad thing that agalloch has finally fallen completely into this trap after years of being on the acceptable side.
so instead of something like "marrow", which had a shit mix, awful mastering, and some of the worst drumming this side of judas iscariot, but DID have fire and feeling, we get this -- intelligently and ambitiously composed, proficiently played and mixed -- but i'm not Feeling It In My Soul. which is a shame.
agalloch made themselves a name writing like no other about dismal mourning, melancholy spirits, oaken citadels, ebon hallways, iron gates, wooden doors, vast forests and whatnot. in this manner they made "pale folklore", a record that -- sure! -- may be naïve, but had so much fucking fire, compositional brilliance, atmosphere and confidence that in my big book of music it still stands as #1 Literally The Best Album Ever In The History Of The Earth. a bunch of americans out-forested us. fuck! yes, i do understand that people are not teenagers anymore and that themes get worn out. but now it's as if they're unsure where to go. maybe if we write about space? or goethe? whatever it is, i'm not convinced -- just by hearing the music and reading the lyrics -- that the thing they're doing now is something they TRULY FEEL IN THE DEPTHS OF THEIR BEING NEEDS TO BE SAID. no hearts are bleeding, no sleepless nights, no real desire to bathe in the blood of mankind. and if you're not feeling that, why are you making music?
7/10
