The Serpent & the Sphere is the fifth and final studio album by American heavy metal band Agalloch. It was released on May 13, 2014 in the U.S., followed by releases on May 16 in Germany and May 19 in Europe.

Reception

The album received mostly positive reviews. Michael Toland of The Austin Chronicle described the album as "one boot in balmy progressive folk and the other in frigid black metal" with "some of its prettiest, most haunted acoustic textures and heaviest, raspiest roars". Kim Kelly of Spin stated that the band's "blackened sound" is "more pronounced than ever" while describing the production as "impeccable: Agalloch have never sounded so rich, so full".

The Serpent & the Sphere

Track listing

Personnel

Agalloch

John Haughm – guitars, acoustic guitar, vocals, whisper, percussion, art direction Don Anderson – guitars, piano, keyboards Jason William Walton – bass Aesop Dekker – drums

The Serpent & the Sphere

Guest musicians

Nathanaël Larochette (Musk Ox) – acoustic guitars

Technical

Justin Weis – mastering

Veleda Thorsson – photography

Billy Anderson – production

References

2014 albums

Agalloch albums

Profound Lore Records albums

The Serpent & the Sphere