| The Mantle | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 13, 2002 | |||
| Recorded | November 2001–April 2002 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 68:25 | |||
| Label | The End | |||
| Producer | Ronn Chick, John Haughm | |||
| Agalloch chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Mantle is the second studio album by American folk metal band Agalloch. The album was released on August 13, 2002, by The End Records.
Cinema "really emerged as a reference point for how we arranged our music [on The Mantle]," said guitarist Don Anderson. He suggested that the band was "thinking in images and how sound might express those images". [1] Taking a more mellow tone than Agalloch's first full-length, Pale Folklore , The Mantle still contains heavy electric guitar riffs as well as acoustic guitar portions. [2] Anderson pointed to the influence of neofolk music, particularly Death in June, as the impetus for using a strummed acoustic guitar in a darker musical context. [1] Present as well are long and melancholic double bass sequences, such as on the track "I Am the Wooden Doors". Anderson was critical of the 'over-saturated' metal scene at the time, garnering influences from post-rock, contemporary classical and singer-songwriters such as Tom Waits and Nick Cave. [3] A major influence upon Agalloch during this time period was Godspeed You! Black Emperor, with Anderson remarking:
Godspeed, in particular, was the major influence. Their approach to the guitar seemed aligned with black metal. The guitar was no longer a purely riff-based instrument, but provided an ambiguous atmosphere through tremolo-picking either large chords or single melodic lines. [1]
The artwork features a photograph of the Thompson Elk Fountain in Agalloch's native Portland. Anderson remarked:
The Thompson Elk is a very well known statue/fountain in downtown Portland which is a city we adore and live in. Agalloch embraces nature because we are siding with what is essentially the victim in a relationship where humankind is a disease. Humanity is inherently self-destructive. The best way to separate myself from what I see as a biologically flawed being is to embrace the very thing these individuals seem bent on destroying [4]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| Chronicles of Chaos |   [6] |
| Metal Crypt | 5/5 [7] |
| Metal Storm | 9.5/10 [8] |
| Rock Hard | 8.0/10 [9] |
| Sputnikmusic | [10] |
On March 28, 2005, Profound Lore Records released a double LP version of The Mantle on grey-colored vinyl. Limited to 500 copies, it also featured exclusive cover artwork.
The Mantle was released to a very positive reception from critics and fans alike. William York from AllMusic regarded the album as a "leaps-and-bounds improvement" over their first full-length Pale Folklore and held it as one of 2002's most accomplished metal-related albums. York praised the production, the mature detailed arrangements of each song, and "how smoothly they are woven together, creating an album that flows from beginning to end, using its entire 68-minute running time to make its point without wearing out its welcome." Sputnikmusic described the album as an experience of atmosphere: "At times you will be frightened by the sense that you are alone, wandering through desolate, snowy woodlands like the elk on the front cover…while other times, you will be rendered speechless by the waves and waves of stunningly gorgeous soundscapes that grace your ears." They compared the album to Opeth's Damnation , in its dreary and "tremendously addictive" acoustic passages, whilst also treading the line of post-rock and indie-folk. In 2012, Decibel inducted The Mantle into its Hall of Fame. They praised the album as moving with timeless relevancy and claimed its legacy helped inform "generations of frustrated shoe-starers, sky-gazers and nature votaries a half-decade later." [11]
Loudwire called The Mantle the 13th best black metal album of all time. [12] In 2021, Loudwire named it the best metal album of 2002. [13]
In response to the album's feedback, Anderson stated: "We are all very happy with the reception for The Mantle. We were surprised by how successful it was. I would have to say that The Mantle is the most precious to me since it is most representative of our current songwriting." [14]
All lyrics written by John Haughm, except track 8 which contained an excerpt from Cherokee folk tale "Earth Making". [15] The song "The Hawthorne Passage" contains a fragment of dialogue from the Swedish movie The Seventh Seal and the Mexican movie Fando y Lis.
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Celebration for the Death of Man..." (Instrumental) | John Haughm | 2:24 |
| 2. | "In the Shadow of Our Pale Companion" | Haughm, Don Anderson | 14:45 |
| 3. | "Odal" (Instrumental) | Haughm | 7:39 |
| 4. | "I Am the Wooden Doors" | Haughm, Anderson, Jason William Walton | 6:11 |
| 5. | "The Lodge" (Instrumental) | Haughm | 4:40 |
| 6. | "You Were But a Ghost in My Arms" | Haughm, Anderson, J. William W. | 9:15 |
| 7. | "The Hawthorne Passage" (Instrumental) | Haughm, Anderson, J. William W. | 11:19 |
| 8. | "...And the Great Cold Death of the Earth" | Haughm, Anderson | 7:14 |
| 9. | "A Desolation Song" | Anderson | 5:08 |
| Total length: | 68:25 | ||
Progressive metal is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral or quasi-classical compositions of the latter.
Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk is the second studio album by Norwegian black metal band Emperor. It was released on 19 May 1997 through Candlelight Records and Century Black.
Blackwater Park is the fifth studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth. It was released on March 12, 2001, in Europe and a day later in North America through Music for Nations and Koch Records. The album marks the first collaboration between Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson and the band, as Wilson had been brought in to produce the album. This contributed to a shift in Opeth's musical style. The songs "The Drapery Falls" and "Still Day Beneath the Sun" were released as singles.
Crest of a Knave is the sixteenth studio album by British rock band Jethro Tull, released in 1987. The album was recorded after a three-year hiatus caused by a throat infection of vocalist Ian Anderson, resulting in his changed singing style. Following the unsuccessful electronic rock album Under Wraps, Crest of a Knave had the band returning to a more hard rock sound. The album was their most successful since the 1970s and the band enjoyed a resurgence on radio broadcasts, appearances in MTV specials and the airing of music videos. It was also a critical success, winning the 1989 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrumental in what was widely viewed as an upset over the favorite, Metallica's ...And Justice for All. The album was supported by "The Not Quite the World, More the Here and There Tour".
Agalloch is an American extreme metal band from Portland, Oregon. Formed in 1995 by frontman John Haughm, they released five full-length albums, four EPs, two singles, one split single, two demos, four compilation albums and one live video album. They announced their disbandment in May 2016, but reunited in 2023.
Bergtatt – Et eeventyr i 5 capitler is the debut studio album by the Norwegian band Ulver, issued in February 1995 via Head Not Found. The album was recorded at Endless Lydstudio in Oslo in November and December 1994 with Kristian Romsøe as engineer and co-producer.
Morbid Tales is the debut record by the Swiss extreme metal band, Celtic Frost, released in November 1984. It was originally released in Europe on Noise Records as a mini-LP with six tracks, while the American release by Enigma/Metal Blade added two tracks, bringing it to the length of a regular studio LP. The band retrospectively refers to the LP release as the band's debut studio album.
Effigy of the Forgotten is the debut full-length album by New York–based death metal band Suffocation, released in 1991. The album features several tracks that are re-recorded versions of tracks that appeared on the band's Reincremation demo and Human Waste EP. The cover artwork was created by Dan Seagrave.
Pale Folklore is the debut studio album by American metal band Agalloch. The album was released on June 6, 1999 by The End Records. It featured an eclectic mix of acoustic folk reminiscent of Scandinavian bands such as Ulver; doom and black metal-esque riffs; growled, clean, whispered, and shrieked vocals; and a production style and atmosphere that borrowed heavily from black metal. The lyrical themes focused mainly on depression, nature, folklore and the supernatural. It featured the roots of a post-rock influence which was greatly expanded on with Agalloch's second studio album, The Mantle.
Ashes Against the Grain is the third album by American metal band Agalloch, released by The End Records four years after the critically acclaimed The Mantle. It has been described as incorporating post-metal, folk metal and black metal.
Sculptured is an American experimental and progressive metal band, mixing melodic and atonal segments.
John Haughm is an American musician and artist. He is most known for being the founder, guitarist, and vocalist of the band Agalloch, and later Pillorian. He is also a designer who has created packaging and merchandise for several record labels and bands, including every project in which he has performed. From 2008 to 2018 he was the co-owner, creative director, and curator of the Dämmerung Arthouse.
Celestiial is a funeral doom metal band from Minnesota. Initially consisting only of Tanner R. Anderson, the band was later joined by Jason William Walton (bass) and Timothy Glenn (percussion). Celestiial is known for using numerous instruments in its music, combining traditional folk instruments with those more typically used in metal music, as well as sampling the sounds of the natural world. Celestiial's music is intended to evoke images of the natural world.
Marrow of the Spirit is the fourth studio album by American metal band Agalloch, released on November 23, 2010.
The Bastard is the first album by the American progressive/heavy metal band Hammers of Misfortune, released in 2001.
The Grey is the third EP by American metal band Agalloch. It was released by Vendlus Records on February 29, 2004, in a limited run of 1,000 copies. The two songs on The Grey are reinterpretations of two tracks from The Mantle album. This EP is part of a dichotomy, completed by The White EP.
Faustian Echoes is an EP by American metal band Agalloch, released on June 26, 2012 by Agalloch's own label Licht von Dämmerung Arthouse. It is actually a single, two-part song over 21 minutes in length, making it the longest song Agalloch ever wrote. The song is based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s play Faust.
The Silence of Forgotten Landscapes is a 2009 live DVD by American metal band Agalloch. It features a 2008 performance by the band at the Biebob venue in Vosselaar, Belgium. It was co-directed by Juan Mosqueda and Agalloch frontman John Haughm.
The Serpent & the Sphere is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Agalloch. It was released on May 13, 2014 in the U.S., followed by releases on May 16 in Germany and May 19 in Europe.
Down Below is the fourth studio album by Swedish heavy metal band Tribulation. The album was released January 26, 2018 via Century Media Records. The band released a video for the song “The Lament”.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)