Agalloch's claim to the throne of modern black metal supremacy is pretty much undisputable. Since 1995, the Portland quartet have been one of the genre's foremost innovators, merging coal-dark riffs and ferociously chugging tempos with a sylvan neo-folk aesthetic for a sound all their own. Following up 2010's critically acclaimed Marrow of the Spirit, the band return with The Serpent & the Sphere, a monolithic slab of heaviness full of ethereal segues into foreboding folk. Featuring classical guitarist Nathanaël Larochette (Musk Ox), the album includes three acoustic interludes that provide a respite from the otherwise pummeling material, like the blast-beats and Cookie Monster vocals of "The Astral Dialogue" and the stratospheric shredding on the 12-minute exploration "Plateau of the Ages." When Agalloch play the game of (metal) thrones, they play to win.