Pillorian - Obsidian Arc (2017)

I love love love Agalloch and was very forlorn when they broke up, so forlorn that it took me a long time to listen to Obsidian Arc by Pillorian, which is the band John Haughm founded with other PNW black metal folks in the aftermath of Agalloch's foundering and to be honest, it was really dumb of me to wait that long. Pillorian does not sound much like Agalloch really, leaning into a melodic folk-tinged black metal that has more in common with mid-90's exponents of that style than anything contemporary really but with the bone-deep melancholy so immediately present in much Agalloch. This album is to me as comforting as a knit throw atop whilst drinking a favorite warm beverage or staring into video fireplace. Obsidian Arc sounds like a home I can never return to but which is home nonetheless. I didn't even draw anything while listening to this. I mostly just listened and messed around on the internet. A beautiful album. <3 '