Agalloch | Artist

Agalloch was an American Atmospheric Black Metal band from Portland, Oregon formed in 1995 by duo John Haughm (vocals, multi-instrumentalist) and Shane Breyer (keyboards). Initially a Black Metal band, with similarities to Nordic bands Ulver and Opeth, they moved towards Folk Metal in later albums. In 1996 guitarist Don Anderson joined the band to further refine the songs, which were recorded that autumn for release as the band's first demo tape, From Which of This Oak. This recording included material which would later appear on subsequent albums in one form or another. Shortly after the recording, bassist Jason William Walton was added to the lineup. Their debut full-length album, Pale Folklore featured less of a black metal influence, more neofolk elements and neoclassical interludes. After the recording was completed, Breyer departed the band. During their relatively short lifetime (they split in 2016) the band released only five studio albums. Their first four albums Pale Folklore (1999), The Mantle (2002), Ashes Against the Grain (2006) and Marrow of the Spirit (2010) are all outstanding. Common themes in Agalloch's imagery and subject matter were the beauty of nature, winter, melancholy and allusions to ancestral paganism. Agalloch also used non-traditional instruments, such as a deer skull. In the song "The Lodge", Haughm struck the deer skull to create an unusual clicking sound. The band name Agalloch derives from the resinous wood of the agarwood tree (Aquilaria agallocha).

Artist Website: agalloch.org

Featured Albums: Agalloch

Related Artists: John Haughm