The White is an EP

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 by the band Agalloch

Agalloch

Agalloch is an American metal band formed in 1995 in Portland, Oregon. The band is led by vocalist and guitarist John Haughm and so far have released four limited EPs, four full-length albums, two demos, one split album, one compilation album and one live DVD....

 released on February 29, 2008. The White, a follow-up to Agalloch's 2004 EP The Grey

The Grey

The Grey is an upcoming action-drama film directed by Joe Carnahan and starring Liam Neeson. It follows a number of men stranded in Alaska after a plane crash, and forced to survive using little more than their wits as a group of wolves come after them...

, completes a dichotomy of releases for Vendlus Records

Vendlus Records

Vendlus Records is an American independent record label currently based in Washington, DC. It was founded in 2002 by Joseph Cortese. Vendlus has an eclectic profile, releasing records in many genres, such as black metal, indie-pop, industrial, avant garde metal and electronica.-Artists:* Aerial...

. The White contains seven neofolk

Neofolk

Neofolk is a form of folk music-inspired experimental music that emerged from post-industrial music circles. Neofolk can either be solely acoustic folk music or a blend of acoustic folk instrumentation aided by varieties of accompanying sounds such as pianos, strings and elements of industrial...

 and dark ambient

Dark ambient

Dark ambient is a subgenre of ambient music that features foreboding, ominous, or discordant overtones. Although it had its roots in the 1970s, Dark ambient emerged in the 1980s and 1990s with the introduction of newer, smaller, and more affordable Effects units, synthesizer and sampling technology...

 tracks written and recorded between 2004 and 2007. The release is limited to 2000 copies.

The song "Sowilo Rune" (referencing the Sowilo rune

Sowilo rune

*Sowilō or *sæwelō is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the s-rune, meaning "sun". The name is attested for the same rune in all three rune poems...

) was posted on their MySpace

MySpace

Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....

 on January 4. The songs "The Isle of Summer," "Summerisle Reprise," and "Sowilo Rune" contain samples from the 1973 film The Wicker Man. "Birch White" features vocalist John Haughm

John Haughm

John Haughm is a heavy metal musician and an artist from the United States. He is most famous for being the vocalist and guitarist of the band Agalloch...

 reciting the poem "Birch Tree" by A.S.J. Tessimond.

Track listing