Album Review // 2020-10-21

Agalloch

The Mantle

Released: 2002-08-13

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I heard a few songs by Agalloch early into my quest for new music. They were a new experience at the time. As I listened to them more, I heard parts I hadn't previously, and it started to speak to me. To be honest, Unlike The Waves is one of my favourite songs, period! It is a go-to song just about anytime. 

The name of this band is distinctive. It is referring to the wood from a tree from east India. Apparently, the tree is very aromatic.

The name of this album, The Mantle, could be referring to the meaning where everything is enveloped or covered. It could be referred to a cloak worn to shelter from the cold. It could be these things together.

I decided to read a bit about the band and discovered how much their experience has been an extension of art. They are into art and film. The fact that Ashes Against The Grain was such a hit wasn't necessarily a positive thing to them. They don't want to be trendy or associated with a specific genre. Out of respect for them, I chose a different album to review. I also don't care if something is popular or not, though I have to be honest: I listen to Against The Grain often and I think it is a masterpiece!

I even tried to watch a movie Don, the guitarist, recommended called Melancholia, because they were such fans of Lars von Trier. I thought it might tell me something about them. But the way it was shot was like you were right there, and I was really sick from it. Lame, I know. I get motion sickness at times, and a few other movies have done this to me.

It is unfortunate they are no longer a band!

I decided to focus in on this album on an evening drive after a very rough week. I could feel the tension releasing from me as I contemplated the week at a safe distance.

So, here I go with my thoughts on the album.

Mood 

This album is poetic, melancholy, and tranquil. It feels like you are being exposed to the elements and slowly freezing. It feels like a piece of art, when listened to at a time you can sit in it.

Artwork

I enjoy wildlife artwork. This appears to be an elk, maybe. I have never seen an elk; moose and deer aplenty, though. I also enjoy artwork in the dark tones, almost like they are shaded sketches. 

Vocals

The vocals are complementary to the mood. The singing is heartfelt; the screams have an essence of pain.

Music

I think it is safe to say that the music here is felt first, and then played. The music isn't straightforward but has layers to it. It is progressive but holds on to the beauty in the moment. You need to be ready to stay a while to enjoy this. The use of electric and acoustic adds to the tranquil mood. The intensity of the drums isn't based on moving fast, but the way it is played at the right moment. The use of additional instruments outside of traditional bass, guitar, drums also adds to the atmosphere.

A Celebration For The Death Of Man

Instrumental

In The Shadow Of Our Pale Companion

I am not positive what is going on in these words. It seems contemplative. It seems to recognize the vast beauty in nature, to ask hard questions. Is the pale companion death, that we can't avoid, fear that we all have to some degree, pride that has us pursuing our personal desires? I like the picture of walking through valleys that is laid out in this song.

Through vast valleys I wonder
To the highest peaks
On pathways through a wild forgotten landscape
In search of God, in spite of man
'til the lost forsaken endless...
This is where I choose to tread

Fall... so shall we fall into the nihil?
The nothingness that we feel in the arms of the pale
In the shadow of the grim companion who walks with us

Odal

Instrumental

I Am The Wooden Doors

This song speaks of keeping the wooden doors closed. Doors prevent or allow entrance. The heart and soul are mentioned here as needing the doors.

When all is withered and torn
And all has perished and fallen
These great wooden doors shall remain closed...

It is this grandeur that protects the spirit within
From the plight of this broken world, from the wounds in her song
I wish to die with my will and spirit intact
The will that inspired me to write these words
Seek not the fallen to unlock these wooden doors

I can really associate with these words. They speak of an experience I have and continue to have. The fact that I guard my heart. I guard my heart from many things. I have been hurt by people and experiences and I don't truly trust any human on this earth fully. I don't trust anything. To me, this is the smart thing to do.

The Lodge

Instrumental

You Were But A Ghost In My Arms

Although this is presented like a vision of a haunted forest, I think it's actually talking about loss. Whether the loss is somehow put onto the situation, such as distance between the people, or whether it is permanent like death, I am not sure. The ghost in the arms is the idea that there is nothing in the arms, only what is imagined, because it has been lost.

Though tempted I am to caress her texture divine
And taste her pain sweet, sweet like brandy wine;
I must burn these halls, these corridors
And silence her shrill, tormenting voice
...forever...

You were the lugubrious spirit
Who haunted the oak of wonder
You were the geist that warned this frozen silent storm
You were but a ghost in my arms

The Hawthorne Passage

Apparently the words in this song are taken from the film, The Seventh Seal. It isn't a movie I have seen. I have read that the premise is a knight and death are playing chess. I have the English translation to refer to. 

It seems that hawthornes are associated with many legends. From being one of the trees used to make stakes against vampires, to giving protection from thunder and lightning, to being an entrance to an otherworld.

"Who are you?"
"I am Death."

I'll die and nobody will remember me. I'll die and nobody will remember me... Remember me...

Yes, Lisa. I will remember you and come to see you at the graveyard with a flower and a dog. And in your funeral, I'll be singing... in a low voice: funerals are so beautiful.

My personal view of funerals has changed over the years. Some years ago, a friend of mine died of a brain tumour. Her family didn't have a funeral. I was very upset and couldn't believe they weren't going to do anything. My experience with loses was that there was a huge funeral (that I spent hiding in the shadows, away from people. But still, it just seemed to be the thing to do). These days, I just feel like funerals are not really about the person that died. They are about the people still living. You can't prove your love was any more for someone if you have a fancy casket and a long service. I understand some people want to do this, and if that is what they want, then it makes sense for them. I don't need a funeral. I don't need flowers at my grave.

...And The Great Cold Death Of The Earth

It sounds like an illustration of a very fragile earth.

Can't help but think of Terry Practhett's illustration of the Discworld being on the back elephants, on top of a turtle.

Earth is floating on the waters like an island,
Hanging from four rawhide ropes
Fastened at the top of the Sacred four directions.
The ropes are tied to the ceiling of the sky,
When the ropes break, this world will come
Tumbling down and all living things will fall with it and die...

A Desolation Song

This song seems to be about love. I think that when you are a child you get bombarded with stories of apparent love. You think you need to do this and that, and love will happen. But in the end, humans have a hard time thinking outside themselves. We want people to make us feel better, make us "happy". Our desire for love is led by our own personal gain. We fail to think outside of ourselves. We don't treat others well. Love can feel almost poisonous, detrimental because of this.

Here I sit at the fire
Liquor's bitter flames warm my languid soul
Here I drink alone and remember
A graven life, the stain of her memory
In this cup, love's poison
For love is the poison of life
Tip the cup, feed the fire,
And forget about useless fucking hope..

I am someone who tries to show love and make an effort to think of others. I want people to feel love from me. But of course I am also a human who fails.

Playlist Pick

The song that I was feeling intense sorrow from was You Were But A Ghost In My Arms. I didn't know the name of it until after I had listened and glanced down at the title while driving in my car. I also didn't know what it was about, because I hadn't read the lyrics yet. But they obviously did a great job of creating the right mood. I have to have this song on my playlist.

My second pick will be ...And The Great Cold Death Of The Earth. It's atmospheric and pulls you in, even though it is about the demise of the Earth.

The album inspired me to share a picture of nature's beauty: