After two demo releases in the late 1990’s the band released three full-length albums: Pale Folklore (1999), The Mantle (2002), and Ashes Against the Grain (2006). “The Mantle” has since been heralded as a classic for having been one of the first albums to combine elements from black metal, neo-folk, progressive rock, post-rock, and ambient music. The influence of this record can be heard in the music of multiple “post-black metal” bands.
In 2008 Agalloch began re-releasing their demos, B-sides, and EPs under their own Dammerung Arthouse label. In 2010 their fourth album Marrow of the Spirit made number one on numerous critic’s top ten lists. In between each of these full-lengths the band pushed on the flexible boundaries they had developed around themselves through a series of EPs that found the band experimenting with post-rock/instrumental rock (The Grey, 2004), neo-folk/psychedelic folk (“The White EP, 2008) and a mammoth twenty-minute epic work entitled Faustian Echoes (2012) released through Dammerung Arts. Their fifth and last full-length album The Serpent & the Sphere (2014) has continued to earn praise for solidifying the now identifiable sound of the band.
Agalloch earned a reputation for explosive and emotional live performances. They sold out tours across Europe and the US and played a variety of major international festivals including: Roadburn, Inferno, Ragnarok, Tomahawk, Noctis, Asymmetry Fest, Maryland Deathfest, Scion Fest and others. The band took special care constructing the environment of each and every show with wood, incense, and imagery taken directly from their home in the Northwest. Such care made an Agalloch show more than just a typical heavy metal concert.
However, on May 13th, 2016, Agalloch announced their disbandment.
Regarding the band's disbanding, John Haughm previously released the following statement regarding the status of Agalloch:
"After being inundated by a barrage of responses, I feel that I should clarify some things. I take full responsibility for the decision to part ways with the other guys. It was difficult, well thought-out, and something that had been culminating over the past couple of years. I simply could not continue any further with the band as it was. I had to make a change as my motivation and inspiration had started to completely deteriorate. Whether this is the permanent end of Agalloch altogether or a possible fresh start, I don't know. I probably won't know for awhile. The band has simply been reduced back to its founding, visionary member for the first time in 20 years. Beyond that, the future is unknown."
In 2019, Haughm made comments on Facebook widely criticized as being anti-Semitic, and the other members of Agalloch released a statement claiming, "We vehemently condemn our former bandmate and want to make it clear that none of us share his reprehensible viewpoints. We have not had any direct contact with him since the breakup nearly 3 years ago... We are not friends."
The band later reformed in 2023 "with the intent of playing limited shows."
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Discography:
Studio albums:
1999 - Pale Folklore
2002 - The Mantle
2006 - Ashes Against the Grain
2010 - Marrow of the Spirit
2014 - The Serpent & the Sphere
EPs:
1997 - From Which of This Oak (demo)
1998 - Promo 1998 (demo)
2001 - Of Stone, Wind and Pillor
2003 - Tomorrow Will Never Come
2004 - The Grey EP
2004 - Agalloch / Nest (split with Nest)
2008 - The White EP
2012 - Faustian Echoes
Compilations:
2008 - The Demonstration Archive 1996-1998
2010 - The Compendium Archive
Singles:
2004 - A Fragment (Second Phase)
2010 - Nebelmeer (split with Mathias Grassow)
2010 - Fragment 4
2010 - Scars of the Shattered Sky
2010 - Where Shade Once Was
2011 - The Death of Man III
2011 - The Wolves of Timberline
2013 - Nihil Totem
2013 - The Weight of Darkness
2014 - Alpha Serpentis (Unukalhai)
Limbs
Agalloch Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
that casts a vermillion flood.
From a wound carved as an oath;
it fills the river bank a sanguine fog.
These arms were meant to be lost!
Hacked, severed and forgotten.
that echoes across the flood.
Its hymn resonates from tree to tree,
through every sullen bough it sings.
These boughs were said to be lost!
Torn, unearthed and broken.
Earth to flesh, flesh to wood,
cast these limbs into the water.
Flesh to wood, wood to stone,
cast this stone into the water.
The lyrics of Agalloch's 'Limbs' seem to encapsulate the disintegration and decay of the human body, almost in a neo-romantic way. The opening line, "the texture of the soul is a liquid that casts a vermillion flood," sets the mood for the somber, melancholic theme of the song. The 'texture' of the soul is intriguing, as if it is a tangible physical element, and this 'liquid' somehow overflows - this may be a metaphor for the emotions that are overflowing from the human spirit, overflowing so much that it has the potential of spilling over into the physical world.
The following lines, "From a wound carved as an oath; it fills the river bank a sanguine fog," may be the window into the concept of sacrifice - the idea that one can be wounded intentionally, and with this wound, there is an idea of blood sacrifice, that fills the river bank as a sanguine fog. Then, the arms of the body become a metaphor of flesh, ready to be sacrificed and forgotten. This opening set of lines then becomes the foundation for the instrumental arrangement that follows, emphasizing the dark and haunting soundscape.
The second stanza continues this feeling, as "the texture of time is a whisper that echoes across the flood." The history of humanity is seen as a mere whisper in the face of the monumental force of time. The idea of time, again, is subverted into something physical, with its 'hymn' resonating across the natural world. The final two lines are a metaphor of animal, human, and elemental passing, as "these boughs were said to be lost! Torn, unearthed and broken," invoking the imagery of the human body returning to nature, and nature returning individuals to the darkness.
Line by Line Meaning
The texture of the soul is a liquid
The essence of the soul is fluid
that casts a vermillion flood.
which floods in the form of red color
From a wound carved as an oath;
A cut that represents an agreement made
it fills the river bank a sanguine fog.
flows and covers the river bank in a blood-red fog
These arms were meant to be lost!
Lost limbs have a deeper purpose
Hacked, severed and forgotten.
Amputated and abandoned, away from memories
The texture of time is a whisper
The nature of time is like a soft murmur
that echoes across the flood.
which reverberates across the red river
Its hymn resonates from tree to tree,
Songs of time echo from the forest
through every sullen bough it sings.
every sad and gloomy branch hears the melody
These boughs were said to be lost!
Lost branches have a deeper meaning
Torn, unearthed and broken.
Ripped off, dug out, and shattered
Earth to flesh, flesh to wood,
The cycle of earthly essence that turns flesh into wood
cast these limbs into the water.
throw these limbs in the river
Flesh to wood, wood to stone,
The transformation of limbs from flesh to wood and then to stone
cast this stone into the water.
throw this stone into the river
Contributed by Anna V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Xristos Saltos
Every agalloch song is a trip to the depths of your existence
EFFIGY OF HATE - Mep
agreed
Rusbell
That is basically the perfect description there! I'm so thankful I was able to hear them preform this live.
Carl
I love that the intro of this song is in a major scale, and then it just SEAMLESSLY shifts into Phrygian. Being able to change moods like that is genius song writing.
Himihan
It takes a genius listener to know the song changes to phrygian just by hearing it.
Henry Letele
+Robert I can see where you got Phrygian from, but its not phrygian, its just in a minor scale mane.
Carl
Ah shoot, now that you mention that I can see that too. I was a little less educated back when I made this. Thanks for pointing it out!
Trace Antonacci
I love the civility of this comment string. It made me happy reading it.
Luc Highwalker
Relative keys!
RoadkillAnonymous
I enjoy agalloch any time, but they sound the best when the sky is grey and it’s cold out. Today (oct 8) we’re supposed to be getting our first snow where I live, it’s windy and cold and melancholy looking right now. I’m enjoying a moment of solitude with the lights off looking outside and listening to agalloch. Nothing else would be so fitting. It makes you feel quiet inside in the best way.