Serpent is just such a strange beast. I can say that Marrow suffers a bit from lacking magic or delivering on the promise that its songs hold, but Serpent feels entirely undercooked and like a collection of demos to me to where it is just so far from the quality that Agalloch are known for.
The motif that bookends the album sounds like a placeholder for something epic that should have a payoff, but it just doesn't. The opening song has like three different intros and none of them build off of each other. There are so many passages throughout that just have me checking the runtime clock and wondering when the song is supposed to start jumping off the page, and they just never really do.
Astral Dialogue and Plateau of the Ages are the closest the album gets to having a spark, but they feel like cheap imitations of ideas that have been executed better elsewhere in their discography. I can you tell you how each and every Agalloch relese fits in their discography and the unique aspects they bring, but I can't really do that with Serpent. It feels like someone took Pale Folklore and mashed it with The Mantle and said "okay, but let's make it bad"
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Album Rating: 4.5
“Mantle as best anything is a cute high school take and I am hear for that level of porc”
Oh fuck I did get into Agalloch through The Mantle
In high school
As an underclassman to boot
Damn. Gottem.
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Album Rating: 4.5
I like Serpent but yeah it feels undercooked and a weak send-off album. Astral and Plateau are the best songs, you nailed it. This one almost feels like a GY!BE album at times
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Album Rating: 4.5
took me until college, do I get an award
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Album Rating: 5.0
I don't hate serpent, but my adoration for this set me up unfairly for it. It has none of the icy atmosphere that I love so much on this. I get that it's by design, but this is legit a top ten album for me so Serpent was destined to be a letdown I guess.
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Album Rating: 5.0
i feel like 'serpent' doesn't really know what it is or what it's even trying to be. really messy and unengaging. i will say this album has grown off me a bit with time - it was perfect when it came out but it does have its drawbacks. too many points where the musicians are out of sync and it is somewhat more distracting than it used to be.
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Album Rating: 4.5
serpent was alright but a let down overall for sure
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Album Rating: 4.0
Perfect time to revisit this record. Despite it having flaws they almost add the charm of it. Some days I will throw it on and the production will be perfectly fitting for the vibe it is trying to capture, and then sometimes I throw it on and find the production practically unlistenable. I feel this band benefits from a little more "professional" end mixing and mastering
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Album Rating: 4.5
Slayz yeah.
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Album Rating: 5.0
i liked how each album had a specific character when it came to its production - including this one - but serpent was really sterile sounding. kinda weird since ashes was characterised by the sterile sound but the songwriting really worked with it.
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Album Rating: 4.5
For sure, I love the production on this. I remember it being a hard swing from Ashes since they, at least John, thought Ashes sounded too over produced (lifeless, etc.). I love that this was recorded to tape, it has such an organic vibe that works really well.
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Album Rating: 4.5
atmosphere here is magical. the sloppy timing bothered me at first but I've come to love that it sounds like it's being created as it plays.
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Album Rating: 4.5
this really is just as good as The Mantle..
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Album Rating: 5.0
Way different but yeh its great
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Album Rating: 4.0
Mantle is my least favorite other than serpent. Pale folklore, ashes, and this are pretty much equal for me for different reasons. I'd probably put this and ashes slightly over pale folklore though
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Album Rating: 3.0
Ghosts of the Midwinter Fires is the only thing worth revisiting here. Everything else never clicked unfortunately
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Album Rating: 4.0
Been binging this lately, really awesome moods throughout. I always liked this album of theirs best because I was familiar with the band already when this was released so I felt like this one was "just for me". I was 12 when the Mantle was released so I heard about it years after they were already legends in the scene. Despite the fact that objectively The Mantle is superior to this I can't help but have more heart towards this one
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Album Rating: 5.0
I wish the production was a bit cleaner, but that's about it, this grew on me immensely over the years
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Album Rating: 4.0
underrated album by a generally overrated band...
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Album Rating: 4.5
Band has never been overrated agreed.
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