John Haughm (born September 14, 1975) is an American musician and artist. He is most known for being the founder, guitarist, and vocalist of the band Agalloch, and later Pillorian. He is also a designer who has created packaging and merchandise for several record labels and bands, including every project in which he has performed. From 2008 to 2018 he was the co-owner, creative director, and curator of the Dämmerung Arthouse.

Early life

John Haughm was born in Ellensburg, Washington, and grew up in Butte, Montana, where he played in several metal bands as a teenager, some of which were with future Agalloch bassist Jason William Walton.

Career

Agalloch and Sculptured (1996–2016)

Haughm and Walton moved to Portland where they met Don Anderson, guitarist of Sculptured, and found that they had "tremendously similar taste in music and cinema". Haughm founded Agalloch in January 1996, and had a brief stint in Sculptured, performing as the drummer on Apollo Ends.

Pillorian (2016–2019)

After Agalloch split in 2016, Haughm formed Pillorian with Stephen Parker and Trevor Matthews. This band was much more aggressive musically and more active as a touring act than Agalloch. They released Obsidian Arc in March 2017 and performed 100 shows in support of the album, including two American and two European tours between spring 2017 and summer 2018. In February 2019, Haughm was criticized by his most recent former Agalloch bandmates for posting a comment on Facebook that was perceived as antisemitic while paying tribute to the late Swiss actor Bruno Ganz. Both Parker and Matthews left Pillorian, leaving Haughm as the band's only remaining member. Pillorian disbanded on February 28, 2019. In his apology letter, Haughm stated that his own comment was "insensitive, juvenile, reprehensible, and thoughtless to say the least." Haughm also signaled that Pillorian, despite having a second album completely written and ready to record, was retired as a band. In January 2020, an interview with Don Anderson indicated that he and John had mended their friendship and that Haughm regretted making the comment.

Post-Pillorian and Agalloch's reunion (2019–present)

Currently, Haughm is focused on solo and collaborative projects outside of the heavy metal genre. In 2023, Agalloch reformed to play a few select shows and festivals.

Discography

With Agalloch

Solo

Collaborations

Film scores

With Sculptured

With Pillorian

With Art of the Black Blood

With Sutekh Hexen & Funerary Call

With BEAST

With Allerseelen

With Nest

With Nothing

With Nostalgia

With Obsidian Tongue

With Andy Winter