The Serpent & the Sphere

The Serpent & the Sphere is the fifth 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".

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