Serpent Corpse – Blood Sabbath (Temple of Mystery Records)
Wednesday, 5th July 2023
In the crevices of a resurgent interest in old school death metal you’ll find newer bands putting their own stamp on the proceedings. Take Montreal’s Serpent Corpse – following a debut demo release in late 2021, they signed with Temple of Mystery Records and issue their first full-length, Blood Sabbath. Close your eyes, open your ears, as you’ll succumb to a sound and style familiar to those who loved the early to mid-90’s development of this scene – especially of the UK/Swedish variety, with some North American attitude / groove thrown in for good measure.
The low-tuned guitar work and pounding rhythm section foundation allows the distant growls to possess more earth-shattering force – all working in unison for that pummeling, penetrating atmosphere that brings to mind aspects of early Entombed, Cianide, and classic Bolt Thrower. Tremolo runs give chase to a straight-forward d-beat groove to make “Crucifixion Shrine” an immediate standout, while “Electric Eye” has that thumping, swamp-like presence that took Obituary to the underground masses. These musicians smartly mix shorter songs with a couple of epic tracks where they can stretch boundaries for a deeper impact. “Land of Rot and Misfortune” features some sinister drum fills against the stop/start riffs, the lead break unwinding slowly in a chilling manner – while the closing title cut at almost seven and a half minutes is a textbook death to doom shapeshifter, screams from the grave plus a sparse, calmer final movement keeps the listener on the edge of their seats. The production work courtesy of Spectral Wound guitarist Patrick McDowall captures Serpent Corpse in a primal form – just as all death metal mavens hope for.
Given the strong interest in acts like Frozen Soul, Gatecreeper, and 200 Stab Wounds, it’s evident that the second (or third) wave of death metal shows no signs of waning anytime soon. Blood Sabbath will entertain those looking for haunting death metal that can be energetic when need be, mostly focused on a down to earth approach in execution that gets the job done efficiently.
