“The World of Spirits is Not Barred to Thee” –
AGALLOCH // TAURUS // OSKOREIEN

For a band whose initial cult following and mystique arguably stemmed, at least to some degree, from their cryptic nature and infrequent live appearances, Pacific Northwest dark metal giants Agalloch have found themselves thrust into the spotlight time and time again since the release of 2010’s Marrow of the Spirit. The guys don’t need any sort of lengthy intro; if you’ve found your way to CvltNation, there’s probably a decent chance you’ve already been acquainted with their signature blend of atmospheric earth noises, acoustic passages, and swelling guitar virtuosity. What I really dig about Agalloch’s rise to notoriety is their penchant for bringing their own favorite artists on tour with them, exposing these other noteworthy (and oft times non-metal and experimental) artists to the average unwashed show-going metalhead in the process. I probably would not have been exposed to acts such as Daniel Menche, Sol Invictus, Allerseelen, Ludicra and a metric-fuckton of others were it not for their various relations to Agalloch themselves, and there’s something both humble and admirable about handpicking tour accompaniment in the face of bands touring together solely for monetary and contractual purposes. I tend to be a bit choosy about which opening bands I’ll sit through, but I’ve always made time for any group opening for the misanthropic Portlanders, and have never been let down. Agalloch’s recently released Faustian Echoes concept EP sits at the heart of this round of US tour dates, marking not only the longest single song effort the band has put forth yet, but an apparent embrace of the slightly more aggressive approach and sound found on Marrow‘s faster tracks. In-tow as main support this time around is Portland, OR’s drone-psyche duo Taurus, accompanied locally by previously one-man black metal project Oskoreien. Read the full show write-up and gallery after the jump!

Los Angeles locals Oskoreien promptly began the evening with a round of thunderously swirling atmospheric black metal. Previously fronted solely by one Jay Valena, Oskoreien’s work has been featured alongside Agalloch on 2010’s Der Wanderer über Dem Nebelmeer compilation, and seemed a natural inclusion to the show’s bill.  The band tore through two songs each over the 10 minute mark during their 30 minute set, their well-oiled prowess and flow completely eclipsing the fact that the Oskoreien the project had coalesced into Oskoreien the band mere months ago, entirely for this show. Their second song, Transcendence, from 2011’s self-title full length, added an additional cellist to the band’s lineup, launching into a searing bout of raw, aggressive and neofolk-infused black metal goodness. There really isn’t any reason for the newly formed live lineup to discontinue what they’ve got going, and I hope to see more LA based shows from the group in the near future.

Standing as a stark contrast against Oskoreien’s tremolo picking and blast beats came Taurus, the relatively new project of Stevie Floyd (Dark Castle, nåtür) and Ashley Spungin (Purple Rhinestone Eagle). Set against an eerie backdrop of Eastern mysticism related- imagery, feedback drones and loops, and equally unsettling and repeated spoken sound samples, the two tattooed ladies progressed through on of the strangest sets I’ve had the pleasure to get lost in. If you’re familiar with Dark Castle’s hybrid of slowed down death metal riffing and Hungarian/Japanese scale usage, you’ll be in mildly familiar territory here, but that’s about where the similarities end. The guitar tone Miss Floyd is rocking with her new project is downright bizarre, managing to possess both an almost sitar-like twang and odd sci-fi warble simultaneously, but it definitely works with what the group is trying to do. The drumming is sporadic, the guitar dutifully repetitive, and Stevie’s vocals reminiscent of Mongolian throat-singing while occasionally slipping into full-on screams, but never do they dip into the rasp she’s well capable of.

Given the relatively rowdy nature of most LA shows, Taurus was incredibly well received, with most folks near the front of the stage slowly swaying in sympathy with the snare drum as their minds were permeated by and anchored to the distinctive concussive thrum of Sunn O))) amplification equipment, captivated by the puzzling visual display playing out on the rear wall. Those not engaged with the band were either polite enough to keep their voices down or too fucking baffled to heckle – I suppose either is acceptable. Taurus have a real cool EP on bandcamp, which you can stream here.

An impressive array of pedalboards, tree stumps and iron cauldrons slowly began accumulating as Agalloch’s members took the stage, the heady earthen aromas of the group’s signature opening incense ritual now pouring into the packed Echoplex.  The band has a new noise rock delay and loop station intensive intro to boot, with all of the dudes eventually making their way on stage to begin the familiar opening swells of Ashes favorite Limbs.

Throwing out a few more songs from Ashes and Marrow both, the new full ~20 minutes of Faustian Echoes kicked up the pace and allowed the group to demonstrate how great they’ve gotten at playing the more atmospheric and ambient parts of their songs in a live setting. This was by far the tightest and most well polished set I’ve seen this band perform – there was very little disengagement between songs, as they seemed to lapse back into background noise and ambiance effortlessly.  The new EP sounds fantastic live, giving the guys another epic-scaled song alongside In the Shadow of Our Pale Companion, which has also been given the full length treatment.

Agalloch had a bit of Pale Folklore love woven throughout their set, and the Echoplex gladly took up the opening chant of their rendition of Kneel to the Cross. The ‘Fortress is Burning” trilogy was presented in its entirety in the encore, complete with signature deer leg on the fretboard and roll-around-while-shredding flourish. Agalloch is at the top of their game right now, and with the band’s reputation for changing that game with every subsequent release, it’ll be interesting to see where they take their sound when we see a full length follow up a few years from now.