I'm going to be trying to highlight some bands who are really doing different things in the next while, so I'll start with this one.
http://www.myspace.com/agallochAgalloch is a dark metal band, but they do not confine themselves within the genre. Their latest offering "The White" (following 2006's full length "Ashes Against The Grain") explores a much more folky side of their music. Slow tempos, lots of ambiance, layering of acoustic and electric guitar, use of some more natural sounding percussion, interesting sampling.
The most notable would be the introduction to "The Isle of Summer", with a chorus of children chanting "We carry dead, out of the village". The song then uses a cool combination of a string instrument (may be a mandolin, i don't know my guitars too well) as well as acoustic and electric guitars, making for some really interesting music.
There is next to no lyrical content in the album, it being about the emotions evoked by the sounds themselves, which allows for a lot of personal interpretation. I find the entire thing very calming, and none the less awesome. Vocal melodies in the forms of chants are occasionally used, again with great success. For the rating, i shall use the samples as the basis for lyrics.
This EP is limited to 2000 Copies, so it will be very hard to find in any stores, If you want a download link, PM me and I'll send you a link. It's short, only 33 ish minutes long, but all 33 of those (barring one 2 minute song) are incredible. If you look on some record distros, its still fairly easy to find a copy of this, though there are few left.
My rating would be as follows:
Instrumentals:9.5
Vocals:8
Lyrics:9
Replay:8
Overall:8.5
"Now, those children out there, they're jumping through the flames in the hope that the god of fire will make them fruitful. Really, you can hardly blame them. After all, what girl would not prefer the child of a god to that of some, acne-scarred artisan?
-And you, you encourage them in this?
Actively. It's most important that each new generation born on Summerisle be made aware that here the old gods aren't dead.
-But what of the true god... to whose glory churches and monasteries have been built on these islands for generations past? Now sir, what of him?
He's dead. He can't complain. He had his chance, and in the modern parlance, he blew it."
-Sowilo Rune
(Sampled from
The Wickerman)
