Featuring members of Embrace of Thorns, Saturnalia Temple, Ofermod and Nefandus, Serpent Noir come from the acrid pits of Greece to deliver you their first full length Open Up The Shells.
Following their short 2010 EP Sanguis XI, Open Up The Shells traverses the path of frosty and dark black metal that has admittedly been trodden many a time, but it manages to offer some pretty enjoyable mid-tempo tracks. It harkens back to the roots of the genre, and much like Mgla does it very well with strong writing with flairs of cold discord from the guitars, biting riffs, occasional ritualistic chanting, and thrashy blitz of percussion; supported by the gravelly rasps and screams one would expect from the vocalist of Embrace of Thorns.
They’re not afraid to venture into brief ambient outings either as several tracks do delve into this realm for a moment here and there (though often supplemented by some form of percussion), but quickly return to the occult foundations. Serpent Noir don’t mess around to long.
So lets get to the meat of it then. There’s some definite progress from their EP. The impressive artwork frames the music nicely: cold, draconic and ancient. Some tracks take a Inquisition-lite approach with bouts of jarring chords between piercing tremolo riffs, the opener “Allies From The Black Sun Universe” is a great example. While the heavily dissonant grooves aren’t as prominent here this track shows a cold blackened assault, steady and strong as the song only feeds of a handful of riffs. The slower section in the middle has a very pleasing vibe — drums picking up while the riff continues to wallow in putridity, eventually matching the drumming for a short time before a semi-ambient acoustic passage takes its place and carries the track to its end.
Others like “Dragon Egregore” and “Voids Of Samael” bring a more bouncy rhythm into the mix, dropping the pacing for a few moments. The first of these two works with a simple formula but no less pleasing, making use of some nice slides through the power chord-heavy riffs and a short slow solo near the end where mystic chants interrupt the grooves.
A similar style is used on both “Shifting To Shadow Consciousness” (later on) and “Andramelek Stone”, where in both the path is slower going the majority of the time before bursting into a whirlwind. “Voids Of Samael” is the longest on the record containing two parts: the first part moves back to the thrashy midpaced blizzard, while the second half (after a haunting interlude) has a very spellbinding and enjoyable riff with that more dissonant flavor spliced in, slowly reintroducing the percussion under the synths.
Serpent Noir does a good job shifting between more playful simplicity and the serious, razor sharp aspects of the genre; mixing the ambiance in just enough to freshen the atmosphere. A nice variation of the more simple tone can be found on “Black Sphere”. It opens nice and slow with a focus on a hypnotic bass riff and foreboding hissed vocals echoing behind it, creating an eerie melody one might hear as an archaic spell was being cast — only to be torn apart by a complete change in direction with the entrance of static and a descending set of power chords. The transformation of those bassy chords in the beginning to a more battering set of riffs is handled well, especially near the end where a bubbley groove forms; sure to have you moving your head in enjoyment. Outside of the first track and closer this one may be my favorite. It is brooding and frigid for a time and sets up the return to the old school blueprints nicely.
There is only one true ambient or ceremonial interlude on this record and that is”Dragon Noir”. It is the shortest at two minutes: capturing the sounds of conjuring an ancient evil by a shaman perhaps, and providing a nice break before the last of this serpent slithers into it’s burrow. And this would be the title track, one final return to the harsh attack heard in the opening track. Fast jarring chords and a few really nice breaks for a bleak groove; as well as one of the only solos on the record which has a subtle mid-east flavor, where the ritual slows behind it halfway through. It’s followed by a droning ambiance and chanting, before spilling back into the writhe once more. I quite like this song, the use of every element heard prior to it is done exceedingly well. It is an excellent one to cauterize this ancient blackened limb of metal.
It can be said that Open Up The Shells lacks a little in the variety department at points in terms of their style but they manage to do a lot with it and retain a good focus on their strengths. The production might bug some of you who were looking for something more dirty, however it’s certainly not sterile. The record is a solid entry for this young Hellenic black metal horde and a fine first full length for them to spread.
Rarely clean and always scathing, this is a tasty hunk of occult black metal. Those who have a hunger for old school grimness (ala Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, or Nefandus) will surely want to lend your ears to this record. If you’re looking to pick up a copy then you’ll have to wait a little bit, but once released you’ll be able to snag it from Daemon Worship Productions.
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