The Serpent & the Sphere

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.[1][2]

The Serpent & the Sphere
Studio album by
Agalloch
ReleasedMay 13, 2014
StudioCloud City Sound, Portland, Oregon
Everything Hz, Portland, Oregon
GenreBlack metal, doom metal, folk metal
Length59:44
LabelProfound Lore
ProducerAgalloch, Billy Anderson
Agalloch chronology
Faustian Echoes
(2012)		 The Serpent & the Sphere
(2014)		 ""Alpha Serpentis (Unukalhai)" single
(2014)

Track listing

[3]

No.TitleLength
1."Birth and Death of the Pillars of Creation"10:28
2."(serpens caput)"3:06
3."The Astral Dialogue"5:11
4."Dark Matter Gods"8:36
5."Celestial Effigy"6:59
6."Cor Serpentis (the sphere)"2:58
7."Vales Beyond Dimension"6:48
8."Plateau of the Ages"12:26
9."(serpens cauda)"3:12
Total length:59:44

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic84/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk8/10[5]
The Austin Chronicle[6]
Exclaim!10/10[7]
Metal Hammer6/7[8]
Metal Storm8,3/10[9]
Pitchfork8.3/10[10]
Slant Magazine[11]
Spin8/10[12]
Sputnikmusic2/5[13]

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".

Personnel
Agalloch
  • John Haughm – guitars, acoustic guitar, vocals, whisper, percussion, art direction
  • Don Anderson – guitars, piano, keyboards
  • Jason William Walton – bass
  • Aesop Dekker – drums
Guest musicians
  • Nathanaël Larochette (Musk Ox) – acoustic guitars (track 2, 6, 9)
Technical
  • Justin Weis – mastering
  • Veleda Thorsson – photography
  • Billy Anderson – production

References
  1. "Some news..." Agalloch. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
  2. "...and for the Europeans..." Agalloch. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
  3. "AGALLOCH – Complete Work On New Album". Profound Lore Records. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  4. "The Serpemt & the Sphere". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2014-05-14.
  5. Jenkins, Jake. "Agalloch – The Serpent & The Sphere". AbsolutePunk. SpinMedia. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  6. Toland, Michael (June 27, 2014). "Agalloch". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  7. Walschots, Natalie (2014-05-12). "Album Review". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved 2014-05-14.
  8. Müller, Robert (June 2, 2014). "Review zum Album THE SERPENT & THE SPHERE von Agalloch". Metal Hammer (in German). TeamRock. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  9. R'Vannith (May 13, 2014). "Agalloch – The Serpent & The Sphere review". Metal Storm. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  10. Currin, Grayson (2014-05-16). "Agalloch: The Serpent and The Sphere". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
  11. Sweeney, Joe (2014-05-09). "Agalloch: The Serpent & the Sphere | Music Review". Slant Magazine. Slantmagazine.com. Retrieved 2014-05-14.
  12. Kelly, Kim (May 14, 2014). "Agalloch's Blackened Folk Metal Soothes the Soul on 'The Serpent & the Sphere'". Spin. SpinMedia. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  13. Ward, Kyle (2014-05-11). "Agalloch. The Serpent and The Sphere". Sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 2014-05-20.
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