Band:	Khôrada
Album:	Salt
Style:	Post-metal
Release date:	July 20, 2018
A review by:	RaduP

01. Edeste
02. Seasons Of Salt
03. Water Rights
04. Glacial Gold
05. Augustus
06. Wave State
07. Ossify
08. Shard [Rudimentary Peni cover][bonus]

Would you rather have your music be love at first sight (or rather listen) or be something you can continuously explore and each time change how you feel about it? How many times do you have to listen to something before you accept that it won't click with you?

You probably know by now that Khôrada is three parts Agalloch and one part Giant Squid. I was a big Agalloch fan. I saw them live on their last tour. They're my most listened to band on my last.fm. I was out with friends when I heard the news that they broke up and I had to go home and listen to them the rest of the day. So you get my point. I was honestly more excited about Khôrada than I was about Pillorian, knowing that more of Agalloch was to be in in rather than just Haughm and I was vaguely familiar with Giant Squid. Pillorian released their debut, Obsidian Arc, first, and it blew my socks off on first listen. It wasn't as good as the Agalloch albums but I loved it. And then Khôrada released their debut single, "Ossify", and I really didn't know what to make of it. Some parts I liked, some parts felt very awkward and my opinion of it radically changed within seconds, but, overall, I was bitterly disappointed. After the album was released, my first two listens felt like I listened to absolutely nothing of substance and I felt somewhat betrayed. I thought it may be because I expected it to sound like Agalloch, which obviously it wouldn't, but even clearing my mind of any association didn't help. My opinion of albums doesn't usually change with further listens, but this was Khôrada; I couldn't just write about it in that state.

I left it some time, so I decided to return to it today after listening to some more Giant Squid. I feel like I found a completely different album. I was already anticipating giving this my lowest rating yet, but now my plans were spurned by my actual enjoyment of it. I also re-listened to Pillorian's album and I feel like its impact actually slightly diminished over time, compared to Salt. I'm curious to see how my feeling upon it would change with upcoming further listens, but I've delayed this enough. So enough about my experience with it; how is the music?

I still understand somewhat why I disliked it, and especially "Ossify", on first listen. On one hand, I really dislike the production. The very muddy feeling does make the music as a whole much less impactful and that, coupled with the lack of any memorable hooks, can make a less attentive listen feel empty. The songwriting is also somewhat bloated, odd and unfocused at times, which really isn't helping Salt. At least at first, as I suppose I've made clear; give this album some time and it does grow.

So despite its obvious flaws, how does Salt manage to still be worth so many listens? I can't describe this album as anything other than epic and grandiose, but most of all odd. It is this oddity that was such a turn-off at first but keeps making further listens more inviting as you grow accustomed to it. Aaron Gregory's vocals, which also felt completely unfit at first, finally made sense and made the album sound epic and emotional. These, put over the more post-metal-inspired instrumentals that were my favorite aspect of Agalloch's The Serpent & The Sphere, feel elaborate and would manage to create a great atmosphere with a more decent production. The amalgamation of influences from both of the member's previous bands does make Salt its own amalgamation of post-rock, sludge, doom, and psychedelia, a quirky blend that feels more natural with every listen.

So do I love it? Do I hate it? Maybe I will in a few months and then love it again. I'm sure I'd love it more if it was more impactful and not so hard to get into. But I'm glad I didn't give up on it. But I still don't like "Ossify" and think the album should've ended with "Wave State".

Give it a(nother) go.