Ashes Against the Grain [Import]

Agalloch | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 20, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Prophecy
• ASIN: B000GTJTCA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #553,794 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Limbs

2. Falling Snow

3. This White Mountain On Which You Will Die

4. Fire Above, Ice Below

5. Not Unlike The Waves

6. Our Fortress Is Burning

7. Bloodbirds

8. Grain

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 10/10, October 19, 2006

By 

Rifugium (Newtown Square, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ashes Against the Grain (Audio CD)

Reviewgium - Volume I, issue XVI

I was never really familiar with Agalloch until just a few months ago, and to be honest, this is the first album I have ever bought by them. I have been meaning to pick up their highly-acclaimed album The Mantle for quite some time, but...well, I digress. Ashes Against the Grain...this album...I really don't know where to start on this one. I really have never quite heard anything quite like it before. It is hard to describe because it is really an incredibly unique alloy of so many different stylings; a mystifying potpourri of musical elements, blended to form a perfect "aural aroma." Perhaps the cover sticker described the style of the album best as a blend of "black metal, Scandinavian prog, and post-rock." But even this is not an apt description of the music itself. It is metal, yet not metal. It is sinister yet benign. Abrasive yet sinuous. Simple yet complex. Ugly and beautiful at the same time. It is as if God and Satan put aside their differences for just a brief celestial moment, sat down in the crisp forests of the American northwest, and made an album together.

The album is a sea of atmospheric acoustic passages, driving electric rhythms, and pristine solo figures, that all complement and overlap each other in a meaningful way. The vocals are dark and grating at times, clean and mysterious at others. It's not really fair to compare them to typical death/black metal vocals, because they are not really shouting, screaming, or grunting. Just dark and wispy, like an icy wind blowing through the fading treetops on a clear night in the early winter. As for the clean vocals, listening to them like hearing the reincarnated soul of an invincible medieval warrior from the 12th century. Not in a cheeseball power metal way, but in a "we actually travelled back in time and lived in a medieval forest-village for five years to get ideas for this album" way. Definite album highlights include "Falling Snow"--that strong solo guitar that starts and pervades the track is excellent--and "Fire Above, Ice Below" with its interwoven yet perfectly straightforward guitarwork. The haunting 3-track "Our Fortress Is Burning" is a great piece that seems to summarize within twenty minutes everything this band can do: from the mystic acoustics, to the enthralling vocals, the symetrical-raindrop solos, the eerie soundscapes, and finally what seems to be the entire band fading away into the shrouded depths of the forest, to return only when they deem us worthy to behold their visages again.

Ashes Against the Grain is one of my strongest recommendations of the year, almost worthy of a ranking higher than a 9/10, and will definitely rank within my top ten albums of 2006. (Edit: I now rate this album 10/10.)

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The "Grey" metal OverLords., August 15, 2006

By 

D. West "Viking of Chaos" (Pittsburgh, PA.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ashes Against the Grain (Audio CD)

Agalloch, has done it again. "It" being the creation of another masterpiece. Agalloch, IMO, has forged a melancholic, sad, despairing, and yet hopeful brick of Grey metal. I am not pigeon-holing this band, I am saying that Grey metal is a distinct and clear vision that Agalloch has constructed. Is this as good or better than their previous records, well you the listener decide. On AATG, Jason Walton's bass is more up front in the mix, which to me is a good thing. The drumming has improved with the addition of Chris Greene. J.Haughm, however, played drums on "Not unlike the Waves" and "Falling Snow." The production is superb, as the mix has greatly improved with each release. The musicanship is filled with tension and release. I've had the special wood-box edition for 2 weeks now, and after several listens, I'm still hearing different nuances in the music. Brilliant songwriting. BTW, the wood-box edition is a burnished brown wood with Agalloch ingrained across the slip-off top. Very cool packaging. These guys are the masters at what they do. Which is convey their concepts of this world, and the condition of this planet we all inhabit. And let's be realistic, it really is not a wonderful existance. Music that makes you smile is very important, but music bringing about truth and a certain realism is also important. This is what Agalloch's music can do. There is sadness in beauty, and beauty in sadness. And that, my friends, is Agalloch's Grey soundscape.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another gem in the Agalloch crown, August 8, 2006

By 

Michael Koger "open minded listener" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ashes Against the Grain (Audio CD)

It's been a long 4 years since Agalloch's last opus, "The Mantle". Since then, fans have been entertained with various EPs, Sculptured, ELS and Nothing...all of which has been good and nice, but it wasn't Agalloch. The waiting is over. Ashes Against the Grain is here, and it does not disappoint at all.

8 tracks long and clocking in at around an hour, this is an album you will not be pushing the skip button during. The album opens with "Limbs", which begins with a very post rock type intro. It reminds me of "The Lodge (dismantled)" off the Grey EP before an ominous acoustic intro segues into a standard Agalloch sound. As always, the band seemlessly weave folk music, black metal, post rock, noise, nature and everything else into an extremely cohesive and addicting mixture. The second track is "Falling Snow" which ups the tempo up a bit. Here, I will mention that the addition of Chris Greene on drums was an excellent choice. Greene does not miss a beat, and his playing is extremely stylish (not too conservative, but not too modest). "Fire Above, Ice Below" is the longest track of the album, and also one of the standouts. The following track is my favorite, "Not Unlike the Waves". Here, Haughm does probably his most intense vocal performance since their demo--very much in the style of Burzum. The song, as all of them are, is hypnotic.

The album closes with the "Our Fortress Is Burning" trilogy. Comparisons can be drawn to the "She Painted Fire" trilogy from the "Pale Folklore" cd. Infact, there is only a few seconds difference between the two trios. The first part is instrumental and sets the mood, leading straight into the second section of the song proclaiming "The god of man is a failure". What's interesting to note is that the trilogy is dedicated to Escape the Day's frontman, Florian, who tragically died earlier this year. The band, particularly Don Anderson, were fans of the band and of Florians work. I definitely encourage you to check out Escape the Day's myspace. The ending track is the one you will probably hear the most complaints about. The last track is a mixture of feedback and other noises. To me it simulates the bleak, desolate landscape that has become mankind. The last line of "Our Fortress is Burning Pt. II" is "and all of our shadows are ashes against the grain". Eerie. The last track does not act as a comforting close to an epic. Instead, I believe it serves to let the listener reflect on what he/she has just experienced and to almost meditate on its meanings. To me, it is just as vital to the album as Burzum's "Tomhet" was to Hvis Lyset Tar Oss or Drudkh's "Smell of Rain" off the "Forgotten Legends cd.

Uncomparable musicianship, thought provoking lyrics and equally important artwork all play into the experience of Ashes Against the Grain. As with all Agalloch efforts, it takes a few listens to really get a grasp as to what's going on. Once it clicks, though, you become hooked. If you're looking for your album of 2006, look no further.