Where do bands like Gallowbraid come from? Released on German label Northern Silence Productions on September 17th, I had never heard of Gallowbraid until I spotted the debut EP, Ashen Eidolon, on a recent mailing from The End Records’ web store, The Omega Order. Intrigued by the album cover, an eerie photo of trees in winter taken at dawn (the standard for folk/pagan black metal bands), I checked Gallowbraid out on the band’s MySpace and I was floored. Gallowbraid, which is the solo project of American multi-instrumentalist Jake Rogers, plays near-perfect folk black metal à la Agalloch. Thank you, Omega Order, for featuring Gallowbraid on your weekly mailing list.
Though Ashen Eidolon is comprised of just four songs, two that top the ten-minute mark and two that serve as shorter interlude/outro instrumentals, it is an epic listening experience that will leave you awed and wanting more. The title track kicks the EP off with a bang, starting with a pretty standard folk black metal riff that is soon joined by Rogers’ raspy bark that sounds much like John Haughm of Agalloch. Rogers’ lyrics are typical folk black metal fare, poetically praising nature. A very catchy and hypnotic melody is then worked over the underlying riff from before, which, again, is very reminiscent of Agalloch, in particular their song “Falling Snow.” (That is a big, big compliment.) The result is that folk black metal groove that just feels so right.
Rogers does not rest on his laurels, though, and throughout the fourteen minute track he explores a multitude of rhythmic and tonal variations to awesome effect, managing to work in acoustics, piano, and clean male and female vocals without sounding cheesy or out of place. Praise must also be given to the breakdown, featuring piano, around the eight-minute mark, one of those moments of musical perfection where nothing could have, nor should have, been done differently. If I have any complaint about the track it is that occasionally a rhythmic transition will feel rushed (especially around 11:40). All in all, though, “Ashen Eidolon” is a truly amazing and often beautiful song.
The interlude, “Autumn I,” that precedes “Oaken Hills of Sorrow,” is actually good, if not great, a remarkable feat given that most interludes are generally forgettable and serve little purpose. “Autumn I” features male choir vocals and flute that create a truly ominous and melancholic feel, the choir sounding like some variation of Gregorian chant.
The mood is carried over into “Oaken Hills of Sorrow,” where an acoustic intro soon turns into a rollicking folk black metal tune, replete with changes in pace that feature mournful electric guitars and pensive acoustic plucking. Clean male vocals soon join, layered with Rogers’ screech, and create an epic crescendo. Rogers seems to know perfectly how to craft his songs, going full blast when appropriate and slowing things down at just the right time. Like “Ashen Eidolon,” “Oaken Hills of Sorrow” has another awesome breakdown at the 7:20 mark.
The album is wrapped up with an outro that, sadly, does not live up to the rest of the EP. It is a nice instrumental, but it feels a little out of place on the heels of “Oaken Hills of Sorrow.” This is a very minor complaint, though, for an EP that shows great promise for an excellent folk black metal LP to come. Jake Rogers is a student of the genre, and you can’t help but get the feeling that after hearing so many other bands get the sound almost right he decided to sit down himself and show everyone how it is done. Gallowbraid may receive criticism for sounding very similar to Agalloch, but I see that not as a complaint but rather a compliment. Gallowbraid does things different enough to separate the band from Agalloch—a different style of clean male vocals, female vocals (something Agalloch has not done since Pale Folklore), and breakdowns, to name a few. If you are a fan of Agalloch in any way, or bands like Ulver and Fen, you will be sure to love Gallowbraid. Even those who are not necessarily fans of the genre, or even heavy metal, will find something in Gallowbraid; the screeching vocals of black metal that generally scare away would-be listeners are not exceedingly ear-grating or offensive to the unseasoned ear. Gallowbraid is definitely worth checking out and I consider Gallowbraid to be the find of the year for me so far.