Pacific Northwest dark metal band AGALLOCH is an entity like no other in the metal scene. Building on a foundation of black metal and neo-folk with lyrics exploring heathen lore, they add influences from post-rock, noise, experimental and ambient music for something distinctly their own. Over the course of their fifteen-year existence, they have released three full-length albums, a handful of EPs, and amassed one of the most dedicated followings of diehard fans in the realm of underground extreme metal. The group is fast approaching legend status. Marrow of the Spirit, Agalloch's fourth album, is the band's defining statement and the first metal release of the new decade that can truly be considered a masterpiece. Darker, colder and more aggressive than anything they have done in the past, it is their most accomplished work to date. Quite simply, Marrow of the Spirit is Agalloch at the height of their powers. "At the top of the American black metal heap, though, remains Portland, Oregon's Agallloch, who have taken the sound in striking new directions, and on (Ashes Against the Grain), establish themselves as not only one of the elite bands in metal today, but also one of the genre's most accessible."-PopMatters (9/10 rating).