SERPENT – Ablation EP review

 SERPENT – Ablation EP

Into Endless Chaos Records

http://hmsserpent.bandcamp.com/

Sometimes I really have the feeling that we have travelled back in time and I mean musically. There are many bands these past few years that create a sound that draws inspiration directly from the 80’s heavy metal sound. The rare thing though is to find bands that manage to experiment with a sound that we consider classic and create something unique and I think that SERPENT from Germany belong to the team of such bands. I will try to give you a verbal taste of their new EP here…

THE COVER: It is a black and white image which in my opinion depicts occult symbols. On the center you can see a snake heading to the stars (maybe in heaven) and on the left and right corner of the picture you can see human feet and cauldrons. In my opinion this is the kind of image that you can find in a book of sorcery or of occult knowledge if you prefer and it fits quite well with the whole band sound.

MUSICAL STYLE: The sound of SERPENT is definitely influenced by the 80’s metal sound. In the 6 compositions that are included in this album you can find that their sound is rooted in the N.W.O.B.H.M. music. The thing, though, that makes them stand out from many other bands is that their sound has an occult dark even supernatural touch. It is an atmosphere that I can only compare with the releases of the great MERCYFUL FATE. In my opinion the band manages to take its influences and craft a sound that you can recognize easily and that is an achievement they can be proud of.

CONCLUSION: I think that occult knowledge and heavy metal can be combined very well and when this is done then we can enjoy some very interesting heavy metal music. SERPENT seems to have this talent and this is a release that every fan of traditional heavy metal and MERCYFUL FATE should check out.

Nick “Verkaim” Parastatidis