The Demonstration Archive: 1996-1998

Now considered one of the premier acts of underground metal in North America and around the world, this compilation shows the band when they were at a more unpolished, rocky stage in their development. Taking some rare and unreleased demo material and compiling it together, 'The Demonstration Archive' is a rough combination of the first 'From Which Of This Oak' demo, the 'Of Stone, Wind & Pillor' EP, and a couple of demos from 'Pale Folklore' to top things off.

The music aside, it seems a bit odd that this compilation wouldn't opt to simply include the entire demo and EP, at the loss of the Pale Folklore demos. The great Sol Invictus cover 'Kneel To The Cross' is not included here for example, and as uncommon as the EP it's played on is, it would certainly have been nice to see it included here. In terms of the actual music itself, there are plenty of flaws to speak of here, but the band shows great chemistry early on. The production and some of the performance sounds amateurish, but the songs here have a very primal sound to them that Agalloch would sacrifice once they moved on to greater things.

Agalloch's 'Demonstration Archive' is meant for fans of the band. There is some great early material here, but one of the legitimate releases might be better for someone who isn't so familiar with the group.

Agalloch is one of the few bands in metal that I would willingly buy anything they've recorded. Unfortunately, everything bar their full-length albums is difficult to come across, so this compilation - which is, after all, only a stop-gap until their next full-length (I hope) is doubly interesting. On the one hand, it's something to listen to while I wait for the next album, and on the other it shows the band doing their thing before they really got the formula worked out.

We begin with the legendary "From Which of this Oak" demo (although it leaves out "Foliorum Viridium"), which dates to two years before "Pale Folklore". Many of the ingredients of that album are already present, particularly the long circular song structures and the menacing lyrics. What's perhaps most interesting, though, is that John Haughm hasn't found his distinctive voice at this point. He still sounds evil, but the effect is more of a regular black metal vocalist, rather than the spine-tingling raspy whisper he would later deploy on their albums. Indeed, on "As Embers Dress The Sky", his voice is substantially lower than the Haughm we all know. By "This Old Cabin", the clean vocals are making their first real appearance, but the harsh ones still feel slightly out of place in comparison to what they would eventually be.

The instruments, too, sound just a little less sure of themselves than they do on "Pale Folklore". The trademark sound is most definitely there, but the combinations of electric and acoustic sections feel more forced than the natural progression from one to the other that would be the hallmark of the Agalloch sound in years to come. This is hardly surprising, after all, since this was the first material the band recorded, and while displaying a clear level of talent, it still shows a band starting out.

We then move from these early days to the "Of Stone, Wind and Pillor" EP, which fits in between "Pale Folklore" and "The Mantle", so the sound is a lot more developed. Haughm's rasp is still there, although it's clearly the voice we're used to by now. Weirdly, though, it sounds less intelligible on the title track of the EP than it normally does. We're also treated to two instrumentals, "Foliorum Viridium" and "Haunting Birds". Both tracks showcase the mellower side of the band that would come to the fore even more on future albums, despite the former having originally appeared as far back as "From Which..." (although that version isn't included here). "Foliorum" is almost an ambient piece with a menacing undertone, while "Haunting Birds" features an acoustic guitar melody which is engaging but rather forgettable, to which is added a sort of crackling fire later on.

The final tracks return to the early days, being taken from the very limited worktape "Promo 1998" (30 copies only, apparently). The guitar tone from "Hallways of Enchanted Ebony" is precisely the one that would appear on "Pale Folklore" one year later, and Haughm has also found his voice by this point, spitting out his lyrics in that way that makes your hair stand on end. The guitars, as I mentioned, are much cleaner and no longer attempting to sound exactly like black metal. In short, this is the closest that Agalloch come to sounding like themselves.

All in all, this is a fascinating release. Despite the unusual sequencing (going from demo-era to an EP and back), it's very interesting to hear the development of one of the most intriguing bands in metal today. It goes without saying that Agalloch didn't emerge entirely out of nothing, but even those first tracks are identifiably Agalloch-y. Given how difficult the two demos are to track down, let alone the EP, this is probably the best chance most of us will ever have to hear these sounds.

It should go without saying, though, that this isn't an album to start your exploration of Agalloch with. Those who've never heard the band before should start at "Pale Folklore" and work forwards from there. Those who can't wait to hear what direction the band will go in next might well find some comfort listening to this while they wait.