Info
- Band(s): Serpent Corpse
- Label(s): Temple of Mystery Records
- Release Format(s): 12" vinyl, CD
- Release Year: 2023
- Review Date: May 26, 2023
- Author(s): Colin McNamara
Serpent Corpse grind the bones with their debut album ‘Blood Sabbath.’ It is gritty, dark, and actually highly catchy/melodic Punk style Death Metal with an old school touch. A less fuzzier version of Grave of Dismember, a lot of the music is rather slow to mid paced but engaging nonetheless.
The Punk elements are a bit buried and not what many would expect when they think of more Thrash driven Punk like Municipal Waste, but a lot of the band’s logo design and album artwork can resemble a bit of Municipal Waste’s work, with maybe a few melodies in between such as on the track ‘Let the Rats Feed.’ Lots of these tracks are just strong, foot stomping guitar led grooves that will appeal to the likes of Obituary- especially the ‘Redneck Stomp’ fans- with Serpent Corpse’s sheer oozing, dripping filth that bellows on a track like ‘Dream of Crows.’ It has rhythm, pace, but doesn’t overwhelm.
For those looking for something faster, ‘Nemesis’ is a heavier piece with more speed and thunderous drums. The drumming is perhaps the most attractive part of the whole album aside from the groove. It hammers but has a distinct pound that is different from the average ‘click’ of a lot of Death Metal bands.
Vocally, the album is pretty standard with the rough bellow that is a little fuzzed out, but nowhere buried. Despite a rather ‘old school’ approach, everything sounds balanced and even the bass can be heard. Combined this all makes for some excellent headbanging sessions and even a few mosh pits, but the level of groove with Serpent Corpse’s music keeps things at a rather even tempo so there aren’t really any sudden ‘burst moments’ like bands such as Aborted might throw out there to really stir the masses.
The title track is probably the most stirring of all with its mix of drum groove heavy moments, faster old school recent Bloodbath churn, and overall a dramatic closing outro that ties in with the introduction of ‘Spell of the Eternal Serpent.’ While the track does carry on for quite a bit, that foreboding outro part is very reminiscent of Chimaira’s ‘Lazarus,’ so the dark, dramatic elements are also there without sacrificing any of the old school elements for an ambient or symphonic flair.
Overall, ‘Blood Sabbath’ is a groove laden ride, with as much energy as a Vader or Municipal Waste album even without the ferocious Thrash laden pace to keep listeners going. The music itself may not be as revolutionary as a group like Imperial Triumphant might throw out, but for down and dirty Punk Death Metal Serpent Corpse already have a stand out sound that puts them ahead of the usual run of the mill band out there.
Temple of Mystery Records
- Country: Canada
- Style: Black Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Thrash Metal, Other
- Links: Homepage, Facebook, Instagram, Bandcamp, Youtube
