Written by Xylem on 14.05.2014 at 21:26

they seem to have lost a lot of the dark, folky atmosphere that was present in the previous releases.

Written by The Melting Snow on 14.05.2014 at 21:49

Though i kept waiting for another song like Fire Above, Ice Below or Our Fortress is Burning... No song of the album actually made me feel. technically, instrumentally good, but just not enough emotion in there.

Indeed. We share the same opinion then.

Written by The Melting Snow on 14.05.2014 at 21:57

Either the music has really lost it's touch, or too many people are downvoting bands and spoiling all the stats.

It's the latter. Every single album is rated lower because of the downvoting trolls that care way too much about the top 20. Everyone should just rate music the way they see fit, not with the goal of increasing or decreasing the rating.

Quote:
PS. I hate admins who threaten to delete comments or block people when they've got a point

Thanks. I think it's very annoying too. Then again, I have already proven Joe and Troy wrong in this matter, so it's not really important anymore.

Written by Troy Killjoy on 14.05.2014 at 22:43

PS. I hate users who continuously go off-topic about vote abuse when warned not to, especially after the user has been told their opinions are more than welcome in the form of a private message.

If this is directed at me, then I will say this: first of all, saying "continuously" is an extreme exaggeration because I don't point out vote abusers often in album threads (rarely, even... this is the 2nd or 3rd time I've done so if I remember correctly). Secondly, I continued posting because I didn't read your post that contains the warning. Why would I continue posting if I know you were going to delete it anyway? That's just wasting time.

Written by Erik M. on 14.05.2014 at 23:09
Why would I continue posting if I know you were going to delete it anyway? That's just wasting time.

The fact you're still bleating on about it now suggests you don't know when to stop.

Oh. My. God.



I'm happy you think you've proven us wrong based on your own completely subjective criteria of what makes a vote abuser a vote abuser. Now please, as Marcel kindly pointed out earlier, get a life. And give this shit a rest. We've almost wasted an entire page of worthless arguing over something that has no place on this thread.

Please feel free to create your own site where you individually control the votes of all users and delete all votes that in any way differ from those you feel to be "correct".

Written by [user id=4365] on 14.05.2014 at 23:15

The fact you're still bleating on about it now suggests you don't know when to stop.

I gave the vote abuse matter a rest. I'm just pointing out that what Troy said, which was directed at me, wasn't fair and reasonable. Nothing more, nothing less.

Btw, I wouldn't say "Erik for fuck sake get a life" is "pointing it out kindly".

This shit is a grower.

After first listen, i found it fairly bland. Nothing horrible, but absolutely nothing catchy or stand out.

I have it

You know, at first I wasn't convinced by the sound and presence of the bass. I usually like the basses that are not too "cracky", but it really grew on me. It makes a lot of sense to have that bass sound in a record like this.

There might be some shortcomings here and there still I enjoyed this album big time, by no means Agalloch sound the same old repetitive tune although Agalloch is reserving their own unique sound, style and atmosphere, they again applied it to this album by composing fresh-sounding songs that none of them bored me and I listened to the whole album from the very first moment till the end just at once.

PS : The first songs made me burst into tears in the car on my way to university in an early rainy morning.

Fantastic work, as always from Agalloch

Not impressed. It's alright, quite standard Agalloch but without those hooky moments.

Average album with 2 great tracks: (Dark Matter Gods & Celestial Effigy)

This is one of my favorite bands. They always write unique and beautiful material. This album is not exception!

Hmmm... disappointing, but it has a few redeeming qualities.

Better than I expected, especially after the colossal letdown that was Marrow. Still, nothing to roll over. Solid, if not spectacular.

Written by angel. on 15.05.2014 at 19:05

PS : The first songs made me burst into tears in the car on my way to university in an early rainy morning.

Why would you burst into tears?

Written by [user id=109200] on 16.05.2014 at 16:32

Better than I expected, especially after the colossal letdown that was Marrow. Still, nothing to roll over. Solid, if not spectacular.

At this point MotS is better than TS&TS for me, which makes this one the worst album by them. MotS at least had a truly haunting and mysterious atmosphere going on, as well as long engaging songs (Black Lake Nidstang and To Drown come to mind).

Written by Erik M. on 16.05.2014 at 20:18

At this point MotS is better than TS&TS for me, which makes this one the worst album by them. MotS at least had a truly haunting and mysterious atmosphere going on, as well as long engaging songs (Black Lake Nidstang and To Drown come to mind).

It's not really a given that atmosphere alone can save an album if said album is suffering from ailments. I see MotS as a vain attempt at creating some haunting and mysterious atmosphere, lacking ample execution and cohesion to reinforce and blend the conceived ideas successfully. That, along with the really low replay value, made it quite an unmemorable and dull affair, although I do admit that there were (very few) sparks of brilliance that shone through (Ghosts Of The Midwinter Fires). This one is crunchier, more metallic, albeit less atmospheric (not that it mattered much), and the musical elements themselves come across well enough. It's also more memorable than Marrow. I couldn't even finish that damn album for months. It was that annoying.

Written by [user id=109200] on 16.05.2014 at 20:44

It's not really a given that atmosphere alone can save an album if said album is suffering from ailments. I see MotS as a vain attempt at creating some haunting and mysterious atmosphere, lacking ample execution and cohesion to reinforce and blend the conceived ideas successfully. That, along with the really low replay value, made it quite an unmemorable and dull affair, although I do admit that there were (very few) sparks of brilliance that shone through (Ghosts Of The Midwinter Fires). This one is crunchier, more metallic, albeit less atmospheric (not that it mattered much), and the musical elements themselves come across well enough. It's also more memorable than Marrow. I couldn't even finish that damn album for months. It was that annoying.

Can't say I agree with you, but I see where you're coming from. Haven't listened to MotS in at least a year (maybe 1,5 year or even longer), so that does say something. I have spun the other albums frequently (especially AAtG) as I like them a lot more. To me TS&TS is probably about equally memorable and has about the same replay value. Neither are excellent, but still very good. I think the majority will agree that either AAtG or The Mantle is their best.

Written by Erik M. on 16.05.2014 at 20:52

Can't say I agree with you, but I see where you're coming from. Haven't listened to MotS in at least a year (maybe 1,5 year or even longer), so that does say something. I have spun the other albums frequently (especially AAtG) as I like them a lot more. To me TS&TS is probably about equally memorable and has about the same replay value. Neither are excellent, but still very good. I think the majority will agree that either AAtG or The Mantle is their best.

The first three albums are definitely where it's at. AAtG is, by some distance, my favorite Agalloch album, followed by The Mantle and Pale Folklore, which are very good. The latest is alright as well but nothing to ruffle my feathers over. MotS was just a little short of abysmal and almost irreversibly killed my interest in the band.

PS. I think the band overall is kinda overrated here.

Written by Erik M. on 16.05.2014 at 20:16

Why would you burst into tears?

Well because the sound had touched my feelings ?

Just started listening to it right now. As always thoughts & opinions differ and go back and forth. I want this to be a good album, see what happens ...

EDIT: Just finished listening to it and my first Impression of it was that in my opinion its a better album then that of 'MOTS'. Production was really good and IMO it had a better overall Natural feeling/Atmosphere this time around. Its also safe to say that their really not a Metal band anymore. Agalloch isn't breaking any new ground with this release and i can honestly say that it doesn't really do anything for them at the same time. In the end, i am pleased with how this album turned out to be. Its an Honest piece of Music and that is something that fans should take into consideration

Written by Opethian on 17.05.2014 at 01:22
Its also safe to say that their really not a Metal band anymore.

what do you mean ? They're not metal anymore ?! How so ?

Written by Opethian on 17.05.2014 at 01:22
Its an Honest piece of Music and that is something that fans should take into consideration

I agree with the part suggesting fans to pay attention to this record but I really like to know what do you mean by "honest piece of music " ? It's just being curious

Written by angel. on 17.05.2014 at 12:05

I really like to know what do you mean by "honest piece of music " ? It's just being curious

He problably means that Agalloch remain true to their spirit, they do what they want to do and never phone it in. Or something like that.

Written by Erik M. on 16.05.2014 at 20:52

Can't say I agree with you, but I see where you're coming from. Haven't listened to MotS in at least a year (maybe 1,5 year or even longer), so that does say something. I have spun the other albums frequently (especially AAtG) as I like them a lot more. To me TS&TS is probably about equally memorable and has about the same replay value. Neither are excellent, but still very good. I think the majority will agree that either AAtG or The Mantle is their best.

The majority of America are christians and no matter how many of them believe, god will never exist. My point here is that the majority is frequently wrong and you shouldn't be concerned with the opinions of others to the extent of formulating your opinions. Declare your own opinion, don't invoke an imaginary majority. It doesn't validate your opinion and it makes you look insecure, like you need approval.

As far as my opinion goes, this album is almost their worst album. The abysmal Mantle is worse, and the mediocre AATG is only slightly better. Marrow and PF are their best albums, in that order. Ask John and he'll tell you AATG is "definitely the worst album we've ever produced" I disagree with him but there's the vocalist's opinion on the matter.

To the guy who said he thinks Agalloch is overrated on this site: what band isn't? Every album released averages an 8 here no matter how mediocre

Written by Opethian on 17.05.2014 at 01:22

Its also safe to say that their really not a Metal band anymore

Not a metal band? This is metal, whether you like it or not.

Written by [user id=109200] on 16.05.2014 at 20:59

The first three albums are definitely where it's at. AAtG is, by some distance, my favorite Agalloch album, followed by The Mantle and Pale Folklore, which are very good. The latest is alright as well but nothing to ruffle my feathers over. MotS was just a little short of abysmal and almost irreversibly killed my interest in the band.

PS. I think the band overall is kinda overrated here.

I have the same opinion on the first 3 Agalloch albums, though they're all at least worthy of a 9 for me. And yeah, the band is kind of overrated, but the first three albums can't deserve enough praise, in my opinion.