review: Serpents Oath -- traditional black metal from Belgium

Serpents Oath

Nihil

Soulseller Records

4 December 2020

The flesh-eating small animal called the Tasmanian devil is known for a horrifying screech that is unpleasant to all who hear it, except for those special individuals that have a particular interest in the shrieking nocturnal marsupial. Like the Tasmanian devil, this Belgian band is dedicated to horrifying sounds that scare off any listener that does not understand. This traditional black metal is played fast, filled with obscurantist aes-thetics, with shrieking howling, and replete with fast melodies that fans quickly under-stand as the hallmark of the genre. The vocals are not so much brutal as they are meant to invoke a raging desire to howl like a wolf in the night. The speed of the drumming can reach exceedingly high levels but it is not blazing 100% of the time, and there are moments in which the listener's mind is given a little time to process what's go-ing on, right before the song turns the corner, and launches once again into the blazing speeds. If you can handle the speeds, the album might be a good surprise at the end of the year for the black metal lifers. Solid album.

Nihil by Serpents Oath