Day 30: The Lodge by Agalloch // 6

genre: folk metal, progressive
Song 5 on the album I'm slowly working through. It's been a while because I've found so many songs to fill the gaps in between. But today will be the intermittent exception. 

From what I've learned about Agalloch, they like to play with a bunch of different instruments to get a wide range of tones and timbres, colors, whatever terminology you prefer. A few things remain the same (i.e. the rich acoustic guitar, and usually an accompanying distorted electric). Like most of their songs, they open with a mysterious and ominous pattern in the acoustic, with accenting flairs from the electric. 

Something's different here though. I can hear a double bass instead of a typical electric bass. It doesn't do anything particular interesting except to add a rustic, rugged flavor to their folk sound. I'm always curious as to what that percussive instrument that plays almost like a metronome in the background (it sounds like a weird hollowed-out clave). I'm not sure how I feel about this piece overall. It's not as compelling as the other pieces, but it does have its delightful minutia in the instrumentation and drawn-out themes. It definitely does not sound like a piece that can stand on its own.

Rating: 6/10