Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Agalloch - The Mantle (2002)

Life is too short for some things.  I would class the much lauded 2002 release from Portland's Agalloch as befitting this description perfectly.  I mean, don't get me wrong there's much debate to say how it is a masterpiece of post-rock/metal influenced blackened folk-metal as the album takes you through the complete tour of the sub-genre it manages to create with the release of this album.  But at the same time it is obvious (to my ears at least) that this is very niche and no matter how well it is done it is a lot to take in.

In all seriousness, The Mantle is simply too big for it's boots.  It isn't consciously trying to be too smart or clever but I feel that somewhere along the way it starts to disappear up it's own rectum.  The album feels like it is too personal for sharing with a wider audience, like it's direction could only be understood by a gifted few (who I doft my hat to) instead of any semblance of "mass" consumption.  This is of course the risk most artists take when releasing anything and I can't discount the fact that this album is more or less universally praised virtually everywhere I look, but for me the reward for listening is more way off expectations.

Instead of coming across as expansive, the whole thing feels sprawling and arduous.  The genuine feeling is that I am being burdened with something by taking the time to sit through the record and whilst that "something" is never unbearable it certainly is draining nonetheless.  I can cope usually with vast soundscapes with atmospheric sweepings and wooshes, but here things feel uninteresting and unnecessary as the record progresses.  There's no defining moments and as a result the whole thing just feels like one long-winded experience.

From what I have read about John Haughm and the demise of Agalloch this record feels like the circumstance surrounding that sudden ending to the band, uncertain and not entirely clear on what the hell's going on.