The Pacific Northwest's
AGALLOCH have unveiled the track listing and artwork for their forthcoming album,
"Ashes against the Grain", to be released later in the year on
The End Records. The album is the follow-up to the critically–acclaimed 2002 opus
"The Mantle". A new track, titled
"Falling Snow", is available now on
The End Records' sampler
"Alternate Endings: A Diverse Sound Collective Featuring a Distinguished Ensemble", and can also be downloaded at
this location.
Commented vocalist/guitarist
John Haughm: "The album sounds distinctively like
AGALLOCH but heavier and with elements of pure black metal, folky Scandinavian prog, and a touch of post rock. I was heavily influenced by recordings like
THULE's
'Natt' album while writing
'Limbs' and
'Fire Above, Ice Below' and you can definitely hear that sort of brooding darkness in those songs.
'Not unlike the Waves' is easily the heaviest thing we've ever recorded; yet at its foundation it is a neo-folk song. There's also some up-tempo material like
'Falling Snow' and moments of total ambience as well. This is definitely not an album that can be judged by one or two songs. Everything flows together as a dynamic whole and the red thread of the lyrics holds the album together. The lyrics this time unfold as an abstract and surreal folk tale. Although there is a framework of a concept, I wanted to create more of a dreamlike feeling with words than to merely 'tell a story.' My source of inspiration for the lyrics came from the surreal films of
Alejandro Jodorowsky,
Andrei Tarkovsky, and
Sergei Parajanov as well as Northern Folklore and myths, Siberian Vodka, and the crumbling world around us all."
"Ashes against the Grain" will be released in standard jewel case and digipack formats. The digipack will contain different artwork, courtesy of
Tolonen from
NEST. There is also a plan for a vinyl edition to be released a couple months after the CD. A studio gallery is available
here.
"Ashes against the Grain" (view artwork at
this location) track listing:
01.
Limbs02.
Falling Snow03.
This White Mountain on Which You Will Die04.
Fire Above, Ice Below 05.
Not unlike the Waves 06.
Our Fortress Is Burning... I 07.
Our Fortress Is Burning... II - Bloodbirds 08.
Our Fortress Is Burning... III - The Grain
