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Showing posts with label Serpentine Path. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Serpentine Path. Show all posts
Fans of Hooded Menace, Serpentine Path and
traditional Florida
death metal like Obituary or Malevolent Creation can't go wrong here; this is a
great example of the doom/death genre and surely one of the musically darkest
albums you could pick to play out the winter.
“Grotesque
Offerings” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1). House of Gripping Gore
2). Night Gallery
3). Spells of the Necromancer
4). Evil That Haunts This Ground
5). Black Candle Séance
6). Creature Feature
7). Into The Crypts
8). Murderous Mr Hyde
9). Last Drop of Blood
10). Final Resting Place
The Review:
More
doom/death of the darkest order from these dwellers of deepest... Florida. Darkness does
indeed drip forth from opener “House of
Dripping Gore”, but that is not to say that the likes of “Night Gallery” don't swing fairly
mightily. In amongst these seven minute epics, there are some sprightly
interludes (“Spells of the Necromancer”,
“Into The Crypts”, “Final Resting Place”), but for the most part it is a
sprawling and pitch black listen.
The
song titles really do say it all here; “Evil
That Haunts This Ground”, “Black
Candle Séance”- deathly and doomy stuff. It is not without humour- “Creature Feature” is a fine and flighty
song title and the lyrics fit nicely- but how much more black can the music be?
The answer is, of course, none! The tracks across the record are mostly slow
and creep forward with purpose- great riffs, some superb lead work and even
guitar melodies here and there. There are changes of pace here and there- “Last Drop of Blood” is pretty fast and
furious (and superb), but for the most part there is more doom than death here,
I think.
Fans
of Hooded
Menace, Serpentine Path and traditional Florida death metal like Obituary
or Malevolent
Creation can't go wrong here; this is a great example of the
doom/death genre and surely one of the musically darkest albums you could pick
to play out the winter.
“Emanations” was
the sophomore album from NYC doom super group SERPENTINE PATH. The band’s 2012
self-titled debut was a boldly grim statement of unforgiving misanthropy that
referenced both the filthy riffs of Autopsy and the stoney doom of Sleep. Now officially augmented by
second guitarist Stephen Flam, the mastermind behind NYC doom/death legends Winter, SERPENTINE PATH were
truly a heavy metal all-star team (the band also features current and former
members of doom legends Electric
Wizard, Unearthly
Trance and Ramesses).
Sure, the pedigree is undeniable, but regardless of their ‘members of’ status, SERPENTINE PATH were
one of the heaviest bands on the planet.
Although there is no word on the current status of the band, Unearthly Trance
reformed and Tim Bagshaw formed With The Dead with former Cathedral front man Lee Dorian. SERPENTINE PATH released a previously unreleased song called “Venom”
on August 26, 2015 which is available via their bandcamp page, but today
our focus is on their sophomore release “Emanations” as we rewind the
riffs 3 years ago to the day and look back at this masterpiece of doom which
was reviewed by Richard Maw on 19/5/2014.
By: Richard Maw
Album Type: Full Length
Date Release:23/5/2014
Label: Relapse Records
It is with a great pleasure that I can say
Serpentine Path have returned and consolidated the reputation built on the
first album. This is an example of the genre done right- the essence of metal
is here with all the horror and darkness you could wish for. Gripping and
repulsive all at the same time.
“Emanations” CD//DD//LP tracklisting :
1). Essence of Heresy (03:48)
2). House of Worship (04:17)
3). Treacherous Waters (07:46)
4). Claws (07:31)
5). Disfigured Colossus (05:59)
6). Systematic Extinction (07:15)
7). Torment (08:25)
The Review:
Serpentine Path return with their second LP of hate filled doom/death.
The band's pedigree (Electric Wizard, Ramesses et al) is well known, so let's cut to the music.
First off, this is destined to be one of the genre's
greatest releases this year. It is an excellent record. From “Essence of Heresy” onwards, the
record oozes menace and horror. The tempos are slow and the riffs suitably
snaking, creeping forward with insistence.
“House of Worship” is slightly quicker with riffs/lead work that recalls the early 90's
DM scene. Think Obituary, not Cannibal Corpse,
though. “Treacherous Waters” ups
the song length and downs the tempo to a crawl. The vocals are brutal, the
drums slow, the riffs stellar. There is something very nasty about the vibe of
the album- in that regard it carries on the work of the superb self-titled
debut. Grim stuff, and compelling to listen to with it- the track has double
bass drums, good riffs and progressions and that intangible extra quality of
unpleasantness.
“Claws” has a
lovely downtrodden and sinister guitar refrain in the intro as the song builds
up the sense of dread and paranoia. Again, the deathly vibes are there along
with the doom- not as overtly as Hooded Menace, say, but
present all the same. This is doom, no doubt, but with a strong injection of
the slower elements of death metal as well- and it makes the band unique.
“Disfigured Colossus” brings the band to the latter half of the album and it sounds as the
title reads- massive, hulking and ugly. The track fits perfectly as a set up
for “Systematic Extinction”.
Seven minutes of pitch black darkness. The grooves created are head nodding, to
say the least, and the overall effect is of a car crash happening in front of
you in slow motion.
“Torment” finishes
this doom colossus with well over eight minutes of iron-fisted spite. The song
is a good example of what Serpentine Path are all
about- unstoppable riffs and rhythms that just keep moving forward, crushing
all in their path.
It is with a great pleasure that I can say Serpentine Path have returned and consolidated the
reputation built on the first album. This is an example of the genre done
right- the essence of metal is here with all the horror and darkness you could
wish for. Gripping and repulsive all at the same time.
There
are few bands to which the phrase 'criminally underrated' is aptly applied as Unearthly Trance. Arguably spawning the 'blackened
sludge/blackened doom' genres, they remain a hidden gem in extreme heavy music
that only certain individuals appreciate.
7 years have passed since the superb 'V' with breaking up, 2 Serpentine Path albums, a few Howling Wind
releases, a few other projects, a reunion, fatherhood, Thralldom
reforming and releasing music coming in the meantime. The question that needed
to be asked; will all this time dampen the creative fires that burn within the
trident?
Fear not! As 'Into The Spiral', the album's premier track goes straight for
the neck muscles with its pulsating, blackened groove, it's a superb start to
the album and adds an element of optimism. 'Dream State Arsenal' is more about
the gravity; crafting a ludicrously catchy, yet so crushingly heavy riff
punctuated by Darren Verni's always exceptional drumming, it's a definite pick
up point to where 'V' left off. 'Scythe' crawls like a venomous
snake, before striking and infecting your blood stream with its glorious riffs
and stop/start rhythm and I'm reminded a little of 2006's 'Electrocution' in
stylistic delivery.
Anyone who has heard 'Famine' will know how thick and
heavy the guitar sound is, with Ryan Lipynsky's unique riffs sounding
apocalyptic yet crystal clear. I heard 'Lion Strength' on a YouTube video
of UT playing live, to me it sounded like some
of their earlier work...but on record, it's a natural progression from 'V',
with Lipynsky providing both the throaty, melodic vocal passages, echoey
whispers and his traditional gnarly growls. 'Invisible Butchery'
starts with some atmospheric noise before the death growls bellow out like lava
spewing from a cavernous volcano. It's the slowest song on the album and will
please the doom heads with its subtle nods to Winter
and Autopsy. The Penultimate track 'The
Great Cauldon' is a 9 minute epic which sweeps through several genres,
starting out with head swinging trad-metal and descending into blackened doom,
albeit melodic and calculated. As the track travels along, it bares
similarities to 'The Scum Is In Orbit' with Lipynsky's trademark croons and
guitar solo near the song's conclusion. Excellent stuff. 'In The Forest’s Keep' is
the final song and is more of an atmospheric outro than a full song with
melancholic guitar passages played over a harsh rumbling before a sample is
heard, with added delay over the top. It's a fitting finale to this beautifully
crafted album.
To say I had been eagerly anticipating this album would be an enormous
understatement; UT are one of my favourite bands and they have rarely, if ever,
put a foot wrong along their path. Hopefully, this album will garner the
attention and success they deserve. A triumphant return? That and then some.
This is the heaviest thing I've heard
in a while. Hopeless, ugly, vicious, and pissed off slabs of soul destroying
death-doom is what we get here. This music makes me want to burn down my
neighborhood and wallow in the remaining sludgy aftermath.
“Marking the
Day” CD//DD track listing:
1).
From Nothing
2).
Expansion
3).
Far From the Sun
4).
Watching the Cycles
5).
Narrow of the Light
6).
Face Down in the Sea
of Oblivion
The Review:
Nomadic
Rituals
is a three piece band from Belfast,
United Kingdom.
This album is my first introduction to them and I am quite impressed. The new record
is called "Marking the Day," and is scheduled to be
released on February 17th, 2017.The
music captured here is for people who are into the dirtiest and raunchiest
purveyors of sludgy, death-doom. Fans of Noothgrush, Indian, Serpentine Path, and Morbid Evils
should definitely check this out immediately. The first track,
"From Nothing," slowly eases the listener in and serves as a
fitting introduction to what unfolds on the rest of the album's six unrelenting
tracks, which ultimately clock in at a mammoth sixty minutes total running
time.
The
second track, "Expansion," has some nice chug and groove going on,
and is slightly reminiscent of early Celtic Frost hooks. On the third track, "Far
From the Sun," the song begins with a brief and extremely tasteful
use of ultra low, Tibetan monk/gregorian chant style of clean vocals making
this one a standout of the album for me. These vocals are very adequately
executed and suits the band well to contrast and accent everything else, in my
opinion. On track four, "Watching the Cycles," we
are given a little room to breathe as this one is loaded with plenty of big
chords left to ring out, hum, feedback, and fade away. The fifth track, "Narrowing
of the Light," sees the band getting back to the land of chug. It
has quite a bit of repetition and an almost mechanical and dissonant feel
throughout most of it's eight minutes in length, which to my ears serves as a
nod to the almighty Godflesh.
The
sixth and final track, "Face Down in the Sea of Oblivion,"
is a true behemoth. It starts off with the return of those amazing
clean vocals which we were teased with in track three, plus adds a velvety
dream sequence drum and bass breakdown right before a slithering, harmonious
guitar solo sweeps in to take the spotlight and usher in the end of the song.
At fourteen and a half minutes, this is the grand finale that the entire
preceding works have been preparing us for, to behold its gargantuan unravelling.
It is our final journey into the everlasting darkness of the abyss.
All
in all, I think this is a great album. The overall tone of the recording is
massive and thunderous. The vocals range from being predominantly harsh and
scornful to clean and ethereal in a couple of small doses. This is the heaviest
thing I've heard in a while. Hopeless, ugly, vicious, and pissed off slabs of
soul destroying death-doom is what we get here. This music makes me want to
burn down my neighborhood and wallow in the remaining sludgy aftermath. The
album is currently available for pre-sale on the artist's bandcamp page and I
highly recommend you pick up a copy of this bad boy.
“Marking The
Day”
is available to preorder/buy here
Hailing from New England,
Black Tomb recently brought to the
table their debut self titled release just in time for the Halloween season. Black Tomb are a band that brings the darkness
out of you and your mind can’t help but get lost in powerful riffs drenched in
the fumes of hatred and despair while the fuzz shakes your core and vibrates
the cavity causing all vital organs to hit the floor with a splat, while you
bang your head against the wall from sheer madness.
Their debut is certainly something very special, it is
album you’ll want to play very very loud, with little regard to your own mental
stability.The band have virtually obliterated
the doom scene this year with their scuzzed up tones, securing a deal with via Totem Cat
Records in process, as well as slot on the upcoming Dreadfest
in Leeds, England next year.
Today we asked Cryptworm from the band to turn his amp
all the way up to 11 and choose his top 5 sludge doom albums in our weekly feature
“11 is one Louder”.
Acid Witch – “Stoned” (2010)
There's nothing better than punks playing doom. Unless it's punks playing
death-doom with 80's horror keys behind it. There's nothing better than that.
Every Acid
Witch release is perfect - from the artwork, down to the maniacal
witch laughter. This was the first album I heard by them and I was blown away
that anyone could turn old school doom influences like Trouble and Witchfinder General into this
very cohesive Frankenstein monster of death metal, doom, and punk rock. They
continue to pull it off every time. Just like the heavy metal greats, they only
take themselves as seriously as they need to, which leaves a lot of room for
incredible Fastway
covers and throwing spider webs into crowds.
Witchfinder General – “Death Penalty” (1982)
This
record. This is one that changed my life when I was younger. There is zero fat
on this record. Front to back, it's one of the best things I've ever listened
to. The song writing is brilliant and the structure of the album kills as well.
It's a wild ride of perfect NWOBHM and old school doom that reminds you just
how important it is to keep your songs catchy. One of a kind.
Serpentine Path – “Emanations” (2014)
The only downside to this record is that the serpent worshiping cult creatures
on the cover aren't in the band. This thing drags you down from the very start
with ruthless oppression. I love when an album just gets straight to the point
like this one. Incredibly crushing tones are achieved and the vocals are mixed
so well underneath those commanding riffs. One of the most menacing examples of
sludge ridden doom.
Candlemass – “Nightfall” (1987)
One of
the greatest things to ever happen... What can I say about Candlemass that hasn't already been
said? 'Nightfall' is jam packed with
epic hymns for the melancholy souls of doom. It makes you feel like you're
trapped in the saddest Dungeons & Dragons campaign you could ever imagine.
Electric Wizard – “We Live” (2004)
The most obvious for last... I feel like not including Wizard on this list would be me
trying too hard to come up with something different. To me, Wizard
is to doom what Sabbath
is to heavy metal. 'We Live' is
dripping with hatred and despair. There's no phoning it in here. This is
genuine discontent for the world. The haunting and repetitious leads just creep
under your skin. They keep this record monumentally heavy and you can't forget
a single part of it.
You can check out Black Tomb below and their album “Black Tomb”
is available digitally here
This
is superior death doom, the sound is uniformly bleak with no real
light and shade in vibe, but would you want anything else?! If you like such bands as Serpentine Path, Hooded
Menace, then you will enjoy this immensely. Dark stuff, superbly delivered.
Finnish
death doom, made by three maniacs with a distinctly early 90's penchant as far
as influences go. The riffs are slow, the vocals are low... except when there is
a clean-ish chant sections (which are awesome). All six tracks are fairly
lengthy (nothing under five and half minutes and nothing over eleven, if that
helps...).
Really,
you will know if you like this from the opening of the first track. “Raita” leads off with all the elements
mentioned above plus some nice lead work. Things do speed up for “Sielu” and there is some nice guitar
work again, with a pleasingly sizeable sound all around; nicely reverb soaked
and suitably rumbling. Naturally, the burst of pace does not last the whole
track, but there are some rhythms that are closer to rolling tanks than they
are to climbing sloths.
“Usva” is the album's centre
piece and introduces spoken word at the start, while the pace is still low for
the main sections (very slow, in fact, for the vocals). Orchestral flourishes
finish the track off, proving that there is some depth and breadth to the sound
on offer here. The title track tips us over the half way point with some creepy
verse guitar work. The sound is uniformly bleak; no real light and shade in
vibe, just dynamics. This being death doom... would you want anything else?!
“Kultti” is a lumbering beast, but
with an almost swinging groove to it. A despairing track slithers forth. The
vocals are so low as to be positively bestial. “Kehto” rounds the album out with a weird underwater vocal effect to
start, along with quieter instrumentation generally. The tracks builds from
there, cultivating a real sense of darkness and menace- but without as much
heaviness as earlier tracks, at least initially. The album ends on this rather
creepy note.
If
you like such bands as Serpentine Path, Hooded Menace et al, then you
will enjoy this (if that is the right turn of phrase) immensely. Dark stuff,
superbly delivered.
The
overall atmosphere is incredibly oppressive and reminiscent of the finest
sludge bands, their music kind of operates in a space somewhere between
Serpentine Path and Electric Wizard or even Helmet at their most twisted. Lurk have continued their trajectory with
“Fringe”- that is now three great albums in four years. Well worth checking out
for something.... different, not to mention very, very heavy
“Fringe” DD track listing:
1). Ostrakismos
2). Tale Blade
3). Reclaim
4). Elan
5). Offshoot
6). Furrow
7). Nether
8). Proteus Syndrome
The Review:
Lurk, Finnish
doom/sludge/death/horrible metal music makers return with their third album.
Releasing a record steadily every two years so far, the band's self titled
debut was excellent. The follow up “Kaldera”
was even better. Rest assured, the band have dropped not one notch with the
quality material available here. It is creepy and dark- just as the first two
albums were. Hooded
Menace are the inevitable name check for all dark Finnish bands, but
Lurk
are nothing like them. Their music kind of operates in a space somewhere
between Serpentine
Path and Electric Wizard or even Helmet at their most twisted,
perhaps.
There
are huge riffs on the likes of “Tale Blade”, as well as
more melodic but sinister passages. “Reclaim”, however unlikely this
may sound, kind of swings in its rolling rhythms. The excellently titled “Elan”
casts a hypnotic spell while the cavernous production really lets “Offshoot”rumble. The overall atmosphere is incredibly oppressive and reminiscent of
the finest sludge bands- although “Fringe”
is not a sludge record, being as there is a lot of doom and death present here
too.
“Nether”is
perhaps the best example of their style here lots of parts and changes, some
huge riffs, some melody here and there, even. “Proteus Syndrome”
finishes the record off nicely with a kind of winding down effect towards the
end.
Lurk have
continued their trajectory with “Fringe”-
that is now three great albums in four years. Well worth checking out for
something.... different, not to mention very, very heavy.
"Now Autumn's fire burns slowly along the woods and day by day the dead leaves fall and melt." William Allingham
With The Dead
are no super group. This is no get-rich-quick scheme, gimmick or marketing
ploy. As Lee Dorrian says himself, this is just the sound of three blokes
making “the most uncompromising, oppressive and most crushing record we
possibly could. That was the only rule from the start.”
Indeed, the nature of the band does cry ‘super group’ – with the ex-Cathedral/Napalm
Death bellower fronting the filthiest rhythm section in existence with Mark Greening (drums) and Tim Bagshaw
(on guitars and bass), who need no introduction on the hallowed pages of The Sludgelord. And yes, this is an Avengers fashioned ensemble of well-known and deeply admired
characters within the doom scene, but their birth was not forced through any
form of heroic gesture. It just made sense.
“I
think it’s a bit of a ridiculous term myself but people will call us that.
That’s fine. We’re just a bunch of underground kids really, it’s not like any
of us have had any major success. None of us have been in fucking Gun N’ Roses, we’ve just sold a few records across
the world over the last 20/30 years. If you want to be successful then you
wouldn’t have written a record as heavy as this.”
With regards to the band’s beginnings, Dorrian
explains that he was never intended to be a member as the Ramesses twosome first got together to make some noise.
“Obviously
Tim and Mark go back a long way, and they’ve been playing in Ramesses together for years. Then Mark had the
whole drama with Electric Wizard a year and
a half ago and found himself without a band. So they just talked about having a
jam and seeing if they came up with anything, it was as loose as that at first. “Tim
contacted me to see that, if they did get something together, would I be
interested in releasing the stuff through Rise Above. I’ve always been a fan of their work
so of course I was interested and asked to be kept updated. There was no
intention of me being involved in the band. “Eventually
they sent over a few demo tracks and I instantly thought that it sounded great;
it was unpretentious, heavy and raw, with big fuck off riffs.”
But things didn’t play out like a drearily
fucked up version of some fairy-tale. A year ago the band found themselves
demoing tracks in Dorset, but as much as Lee “loved
the tracks,”he felt that “the
recordings didn’t do them any justice.”
He illustrates: “So instead of panicking to get
something out there, step back for six months, come back to it with fresh ears
and start again from scratch. By this point I’d already agreed to do vocals. So
during that time we had chance for the songs to sink in a bit more. Once we had
the focal point of writing the heaviest songs we could everything became a lot
easier. There are few times in your career when you can be that channelled into
an idea and all be on the same page. We were just totally focused in making
the most brutal record we could. There wasn’t any messing around with
experimentalism.
“This
was the easiest record I’ve ever done to be honest. I did all the vocals in
about two hours; we just kept the first takes. In Cathedral I’d spend weeks and weeks and weeks on
just one line so that it just looked right on paper. I had no social life, I’d
torture myself. It was so liberating to get away from that and sort of do
something off the wall.”
As dismissive as he is of the super group label
slapped across this band by excited fans and media types, he is aware of the
resulting factors of this collaboration. It’s a branding akin to the ‘as seen on TV’ found on many books and
albums, as retailers scramble for a unique selling point. In the band’s
situation however, the desire is for the music to speak for itself and not
depend on notoriety like a new born baby suckling its mother.
Since founding Rise AboveRecords however, his perspective and understanding of what
can so often be a cut throat industry has marked his actions.
“I
make no bones about it; it’s very easy having myself, Mark and Tim together in
a band. It’s made things more instantly recognisable and marketable. Things are
gonna be easier for us due to that fact we’re recognised musicians. People
might say that we got together because it’s easy for us to sell a lot of
records, I can see why people would say these things, but what are we supposed
to do, not do it because we were worried about what people might think?
“[Because
of that] people are obviously gonna have expectations of us three being
together. There’s a big burden of responsibility that comes with that. That’s
why I didn’t want to rush anything after hearing those initial demos.
Consequences are something I think about with the label every day. One false
move and that could be the label done for, so I have to be very careful. I
don’t know if that’s a business perspective or just a caring perspective. I
wouldn’t be in this band if I thought the music was just average – what would
be the point?”
After reconvening six months after those first
sessions together, the band’s chemistry exploded. What they now have – and what
we, the public can now gleefully drown within – is by far one of the most
gut-wrenching albums of 2015. It belies a choking sense of gravity, the sheer
weight of each song as unrelenting as it is personalised by the three lauded
souls who have breathed life into these compositions.
“It’s fucking killer,” he
gushes. “Tim and Mark are just awesome really. I think on this record they’ve
really excelled themselves. The production is very raw and abrasive and I think
it captures them in the best way; this is the best they’ve ever sounded.
There’s a fine line between making the record sounding garagey and too polished
– to have it intense and heavy while still audible.
“Hopefully
it just sounds like a genuine record. We wanted to put as much as ourselves and
relate to it as personally as we could. You don't have to be original to make
good music. Just put your soul into it. If it’s not pretentious it’s gonna
sound fresh because there’s only one you. I mean, on the grand scale of our
existence as people rock n’ roll is still relatively new. Too many people are
trying to reinvent the wheel, but you just have to be yourself. As long as it
sounds like you.”
As a short but damnably sour body of work – from
‘The Cross’’ towering cacophonous
grit, which sounds like a nastier Uncle Acid at times, to
the slow motion earthquake of ‘I Am Your
Virus,’ capped by a dominant performance from Dorrian – this self-titled
offering is hard to fault. It breathes honesty and integrity, reflecting the
hearts and minds behind the music.
The question on everybody’s lips right now, and
quite naturally too, is what happens next?
“There’s
no big masterplan for this band. It’s a major relief to have the music finished
and out there but with everything else we’re just taking things as they come.
Hopefully we’ll do some shows next year and another record. I don’t want this
to be another studio project that doesn’t do anything. Personally I think this record
is too good to just leave it and there’s more stuff that we can do. I’d like to
think that this isn’t a one off.
Obviously
in a live scenario Tim’s gonna be playing guitar so we’ll have to find a
bassist, maybe a second guitarist. So there’s a lot to think about but we’re
not ruling anything out.”
And with that, The Sludgelord
can hear the echoic clamour of thousands of prayers hoping that this band is
here to stay, and not just a flash in the pan, not just an adrenalised and
inspired meeting of much revered minds. Amen!!
