Not only was Agalloch's Pale Folklore an astoundingly ambitious and accomplished debut, it made for a stark geographical anomaly, since its eclectic, avant-garde folk-metal was the sort of thing one would expect to emerge from Scandinavia - not Portland, OR. Epic, atmospheric, deeply melancholy, yet extremely heavy, its songs showed the same level of daring cross-pollination as those of Norway's Ulver or Sweden's Opeth, as well as off-the-beaten-path experiments with folk music forms pioneered by Finland's Amorphis, among others - yet unquestionably treaded its own, unique path. The album's fascinating journey begins with the three-song suite titled "The Painted Fire Across the Skyline," featuring forceful, driving power chords, elegiac melodies on acoustic guitar and piano, and half-whispered, half-screamed vocals backed by mood-enhancing icy winds…

The origins of Agalloch date back to 1995 and the disintegration of the band Aeolachrymae. As that group died, three phoenixes emerged from the ashes, Sussurrus Inanis, Nothing, and Agalloch. Mixing black metal with atmospheric textures, gothic doom, and neo-folk and post-rock touches, the Portland, OR-based group quickly developed a rabid cult following.