Tag Archives: agalloch

The Band Agalloch Has Ended (1995-2016)

The past couple of days have been loaded with celebratory news about reunions and tours and festivals but amidst these wonderful announcements comes the sadder news from the Agalloch side of the fence about their calling it a career. Their official statement can be found below.

Logo - Agalloch

From The Band Facebook:

“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.”

PiercingMetal Thoughts: I always hate when a band that has so many powerful things to say decides to call it a career and sadly I never got to see them in concert more than a couple of times over the years. That said at least we still have their crushing works and I wish all of their members well and thank them for the music. Good luck in your future’s, we’ll be listening. Fans who wish to leave us their thoughts about this breakup may do so in the comments section below.

Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/AgallochOfficial/

Revisiting “Metal Edge” Magazine: The CD Reviews – Part 1

These album overviews were originally written for Metal Edge Magazine when I was a contributor to their “Hear Us Out” CD reviews section back in 2006-2007. With the magazine wrapping up publication a few months ago, I decided to add them to the context of our PiercingMetal presentation. I felt that by doing this I would not only be raising the horns in remembrance of the magazine but would also be able to showcase just how different writing for a major publication was when it all came down to it. Since “Hear Us Out” notations were usually “100” words in length, these posts will feature several reviews each until we run out of them. The freelance writing tenure at Metal Edge Magazine was discussed on THIS LINK so please check that out when done. Here are the reviews, so “Hear Us Out”.

36 Crazyfists: “Rest Inside The Flames” (DRT Entertainment)

Newly signed to DRT Entertainment, the Post Hardcore meets Melodic Metalcore guys in 36 Crazyfists give us their third album “Rest Inside The Flames”. The release is a significant Metal punch to the teeth as they use the Hardcore vibe straight away but different from some bands that blend in the Melodic aspect, 36CF are often using the both at the same time. I found this a great dynamic instead of the switching off, and actually at the end of the listen wished that they had only used the clean vocal since it was so good. Songs like “On Any Given Night” are fantastic and serve to save the listener from the crop of Emo bands dished out and somehow popular. The drive and delivery of 36CF is bound to please those who are looking for some levels of anger in their music but also those who are seeking more melody than a lot of bands offer. There are a lot of flavors on the album and they even offer some tribute to their homelands on the cut “Aurora”, a song which they said is about love and its magic that can be inspired by the magnificent Northern Lights. If that’s not off the beaten path from other heavy bands I don’t know what else is. There is also a lot of cool music on the release as well as far as time signatures and overall technical display. The band has been around since 1994 so their time together shows in the tightness of the performance on the recording. This resulting tightness makes songs like “Felt Through A Phone Line” among the best on the album and a sure fire hit once it gets to the proper ears. Now despite the harmonies on a number of tracks there is still the continual assault which you find especially on tracks like “Elysium”; the number is a one-two punch of Metal force which makes it interesting to realize that the band takes their very name from one of Jackie Chan’s Kung-Fu movies. In similar fashion to that kind of film the band hits you hard and from a number of different angles leaving you as a listener very clearly remembering what has hit you. There is a lot of fun to be had with this album and there is a very live feel to the music that should transfer well to the group’s performances.

3 Legged Dogg: “Frozen Summer” (Perris Records)

When you take members of Dio, DLR and Quiet Riot you are bound to get a super group and this is exactly what you find in the Bluesy Hard Rock of 3LD. Singer Chas West reminds me of Coverdale while the riffs and drums thunder with Zeppelin/Purple finesse. It’s surprisingly fresh and catchy all around and the perfect band in a day where the old sound is sorely required once again. It’s a great new musical vehicle for Bain, Appice, West, Young and Cavazo but they should really change that name since it takes away from this truly impressive debut.
Continue reading Revisiting “Metal Edge” Magazine: The CD Reviews – Part 1

PiercingMetal’s “Best Of 2006”: The Music

Another exciting year in Metal music has gone by and as a member of the music press, I’m tasked with not only doing reviews here on the website but also in lining out what releases that I felt were the years very best. Initially, this post was going to feature the whole gamut of the years in terms of the music, the videos and the concerts but when my album list went on and on and on I decided to give it a post of its own to go easier on you. Let’s go.

The Best Albums Of 2006

Mercenary “The Hours That Remain” (Century Media Records): A great follow up to “11 Dreams”, this band shows that they are taking chances in Metal.

Mastodon “Blood Mountain” (Warner Brothers): Jazz Fusion Metal? I dunno, but the new Mastodon sure kicks your ass around the block.

Amorphis “Eclipse” (Nuclear Blast Records): Finnish boys return and do more good. Lots of feels on this one.

Scar Symmetry “Pitch Black Effects” (Nuclear Blast Records): Raging guitar solos, soaring clean vocals, brutal death metal growls-brilliant!

Lamb of God “Sacrament” (Epic Records): Their best yet. Future legends. The first four songs are instant classics and if you don’t find your fist in the air for this release you don’t have one. Go watch American Idol

Iron Maiden “A Matter of Life and Death” (EMI Music): Up the Irons, pure and simple. Some bad press from some people who don’t see the return to form. They are idiots.

I “Between Two Worlds” (Nuclear Blast Records): Great project from members of Immortal, Enslaved, and Gorgoroth.

Enslaved “RUUN” (Candlelight Records): The Black Metal titans get even more progressive and this is an incredible listen from start to finish

Satyricon “Now, Diabolical” (Century Media Records): More Metal needs to be like this. A resounding effort that lays waste to that which tries to come close.

Vanden Plas “Christ O” (InsideOut Music): Stunning operatic progressive metal. Their best yet! Especially the bonus track
Continue reading PiercingMetal’s “Best Of 2006”: The Music

“Ashes Against The Grain” by Agalloch

Artist: Agalloch
Title: “Ashes Against The Grain”
Label: The End Records
Release Date: 8/8/2006
Genre: Progressive, Atmospheric, Experimental, Dark Metal
Rating: 4/5

When you look to play some cool Atmospheric Doom Metal and your mind starts to seek out the region where some of the better stuff is generated from, you would be hard pressed to come up with Portland Oregon as all that inspirational. Yet, oddly enough the guys in Agalloch hail from there and call it home on top of doling out some of the most dramatic and brooding music of this kind. There is a refreshing, yet Dark and ominous sound on “Ashes Against The Grain”, an album that takes elements of Black Metal and Folk to the mix as well over the haunting guitar riffs. The guitars are rich in echo and decay and they use two styles of vocals (Growls and Clean) which together make the overall vibe of this enthralling CD stretches the boundaries on how genres can mix and be used together. Heavy, but by no means a display a screaming Metal prowess the listener gets drawn in to tracks like “Falling Snow” which at points use power chords that are reminiscent of Type-O-Negative. The blending of the vocals works especially well for the release as you often only hear the two in blistering Black Metal. I felt this gives a positive spin on those who perform different genre styles and shows it’s acceptable to use them in this format as well.
Continue reading “Ashes Against The Grain” by Agalloch