Apparently we're a week into "nothing but black metal November," and I've been guilty of listening to, well, everything but black metal. I planned on holding out until the new Agalloch album is released later this month (yes, I am going to buy it, and no, I'm not going to post it here) to start my black/folk binge, but then some asshole went and shared this Gallowbraid EP.

Ashen Eidolon sounds like if Agalloch had switched out the post-rock influences Ashes Against the Grain for celtic-sounding leads and some more black metal, and then added Mantle-esque acoustic passage. If that sentence meant nothing to you, then listen here: this EP is some goddamn awesome atmospheric black metal that makes you want to go run headfirst into a tree, so that you can be be one with the forest. Shit yeah.