Portland, Oregon's Agalloch have been churning out their brand of American black metal since 1995 and have returned with their latest album. Along with being mostly black metal they have folk metal, progressive metal, and drone metal influences. In this album they are able to shift from one style to the next seamlessly to create a compelling metal experience. The album starts off with a melancholy instrumental titled "They Escaped The Weight of Darkness", a cello plays while you hear a brook bubbling and birds chirping, when that interlude is over it bulldozes right into "Into The Painted Grey". Blast beats and churning guitar start a song that shows off the band's penchant for dynamic arrangements, it soars and impresses for nearly 12 1/2 minutes. As with most black metal bands they have a certain theatrical flair ala Cradle of Filth or Dimmu Borgir, without all the makeup and posturing of course. The vocal stylings of vocalist John Haughm kind of reminds me of Dani Filth but it wouldn't be fair to hem his vocal style to just that one niche. He does a wretching high pitched scream, whispering, and clean vocals. Another thing you will notice with this album it's not slickly or overly produced as evidenced by the sound of the drums, it's very clean. A lot of metal bands with money to throw around in the studio use after effects and pro tools to tweak and hone the drums, especially when blast beats or double bass are involved. This album is lacking such effects and it works to the overall benefit of the listening experience. A static and sterile over-production would ruin the atmosphere of this album. You get the sense that you're listening to a live recording and it oozes character and soul. The songs on this album are long, aside from the opening interlude which is only 3:41, they clock in anywhere from almost 10 minutes to over 17 1/2 minutes in length, and a majority of the tracks segue into each other, giving an orchestral and coherent feel. The mentioned 17 minute track "Black Lake Nidstang" is the highlight of the album for me, starting off droning and easing into booming drums like the prelude to a war march while acoustic guitars slowly strum over it, then it moves into progressive metal territory that reminds of listening to the band Isis. It goes on and on into strange and wonderful styles and territories. The album is constantly shifting and changing and never stagnates. I can't presume to know if someone who likes metal will like this album, that being said I think it's accessible enough that a fan of heavy music will enjoy it. If you're idea of "heavy" is more the Killswitch Engage or All That Remains territory you might not be able to swallow this album whole. That being said this is one of the most engaging metal releases I've heard in a while, that's why I'm giving it a 4 out of 5. Agalloch - "Into The Painted Grey"
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