Reviews: SAT108
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След като Marduk ни отнесоха почти новогодишно с безмилостния блек на „Frontschwein“, а Dødheimsgard ни поднесоха своята порция авангардизъм и мрачна психеделика (да не изброявам и други образци на жанра, които ни зарадваха до момента), ето че на родния хоризонт се появи един албум със сериозна заявка за качествена и професионална музика. SERPENTINE CREATION са тук с техния „The Fiery Winds Of Armageddon“. Истински зъл, агресивен блек метъл. Жегите, които ни връхлетяха са напълно в унисон с огнения Ад на Армагедон, а той ни залива току с първата, едноименна песен „The Fiery Winds Of Armageddon“ (към, която започвам да се пристрастявам). Още встъпителните акорди ни засипват като огнена градушка, а на Света му предстои да бъде запален… и изгорен до последната ангелска перушинка. Засипан с апокалиптична пепел, докато угасне и последният дъх напомнящ за живота. Тотална дръм агресия от Mephistophel, безмилостни вокали от Vlad, които крещят своята ненавист към всичко живо, призовавайки Ангелите на Мрака и перфекно вплетени китарни сола на Gormoth, внасящи мелодична меланхолия. Онази „шведска“ меланхоличност, която разпва и разкъсва. Която сред общата брутална атмосфера ни кара да се обърнем навътре към себе си и да си признаем поне за миг, че тази крещяща злоба, омраза и нихилизъм всъщност са нашата броня и защита срещу болката, която пълзи вътре в нас. Защита срещу един свят лишен от красота, от чувства, оголен и озъбен като оглозгани, изпепелени кости, който ни хвърля в агонията на отчуждение и изолация. Адска клада, на която да хвърлим своите ангели и да приветстваме демоните си.
Десет години сценично присъствие са си казали думата и в „The Fiery Winds Of Armageddon“ ще чуете и усетите безспорното израстване на SERPENTINE CREATION. Един истински сборник от блек метъл химни. Перфектен саунд дело на Hass Weg Productions (Fra), Nyarlathotep Records (Bra) и Satanath Records (Rus). Четиредесет минути, които ще ви пратят в друго измерение, като се има предвид и концепцията му „SATAN and COSMOS!“ … пригответе се за едно истинско пътуване от кръговете на Ада до безкрайния мрак на Вселената. Всяка песен в този албум ми стана любима по някакъв начин, така че не мога да направя разбор. Все пак (колкото и да не харесвам това), задължителен е за фенове на „добрия стар“ шведски блек метъл, за останалите силно препоръчвам. След всичко случващо се на българската екстремна сцена в края на годината вероятно ще имам и класация топ 10 на български метъл албуми. И „The Fiery Winds Of Armageddon“ със сигурност ще намери своето място в тази десетка. Оценката ми е 9/10. Ако искате обосновка, прочетете пак ревюто.
Sinds 2001 werken de heren van Serpentine Creation al aan hun pad in de muziekwereld. De band bestaat uit een samenstroom van muzikanten uit de twee meest bekende Bulgaarse bands in het black/deathmetalgenre destijds, zijnde Demonism en Desolate. Traag kwam de trein op gang met pas in 2009 een full-length en dit jaar heeft de band een label te strikken met het Russische Satanath Records. Album nummer twee, The Fiery Winds of Armageddon, ligt klaar.
Het is niet overdreven om te stellen dat Serpentine Creation erg herkenbaar in de oren klinkt, originaliteit is niet veel bands binnen dit genre nog gegeven en altijd blijft die Scandinavische liefde wat hoorbaar. Het is uiteraard de bron waar velen het water nog gaan halen en in geval van deze Bulgaren is die oorsprong erg Zweeds en melodisch met vooral Dissection als voornaamste invloed. Toch is deze muziek veel geladener in de drums, klinken de gitaren wat zwaarder en is de productie erg verzorgd. Het mist zo wel een oldschool sound, maar dit verhaal kennen we wel, met erg typische melodische gitaren en zelfs wat stervende engelen in de lyriek.
Een band die eigenlijk geen slechte release uitbrengt, maar dit ben je gewoon zo beu als koude pap ondertussen. Het bewijs dat je dan wel een goede productie kan hebben en je songs genoeg kracht en melodie mogen bezitten, maar dat het gewoon niet meer klikt als het te herkenbaar in de oren klinkt. Goed product, weinig tot geen meerwaarde.
Ora scopro che anche in Bulgaria si fa del buon black. Ormai l’Europa dell’est ha cominciato a minare seriamente l’egemonia delle band nordiche per quanto riguarda questo particolare genere musicale. I Serpentine Creation ne sono una prova lampante. Figli del black anni novanta, quello veloce, feroce e incazzato, i bulgari aprono con la title track, ed è subito cristallino quanto questo platter sia una chiara dichiarazione di intenti. Dimenticatevi melodie, arpeggi e parti strumentali. Solo puro e sano black con deboli venature atmosferiche, in cui il cantante mette del suo, con tonalità oscure e profonde. Le partiture pagano dazio alla scuola norvegese, tanto che in alcuni tratti è impossibile non riconoscere i Satyricon. Il risultato, proprio per questo, non è assolutamente originale, ma la genuinità e la spontaneità delle composizioni, unite ad una produzione pulita e nella media, fanno si che l’ascoltatore proceda con curiosità nell’ascolto delle tracce. Arrivisti.
Serpentine Creation are a Bulgarian Black Metal band. This is their second album.
This is some good old-fashion Satanic Black Metal with lots of darkness and some Classical overtones in their choice of malevolent riffs.
It’s multi-paced, razor-sharp and infused with a Blackened melodicism that cuts like a knife. They also incorporate a few non-orthodox riffs and ideas into the mix, which gives them an added dimension of interest. Serpentine Creation are firmly rooted in the Old-School but are looking towards the future at the same time.
The Fiery Winds of Armageddon is a solid album of Black Metal that features decent songs and surprisingly catchy melodies and hooks. This is one of those bands that I’d hesitate to call Melodic Black Metal; it’s more that they play Black Metal that features melody. As I’ve said before, it’s a subtle distinction but a distinction nonetheless. Although, having said that, this is closer to Melodic Black Metal than some of the other bands I’ve said that about, so I guess it’s all subjective really.
The album boasts a solid sound and everything is clear and crisp without being overly so and ruining the Blackened mood.
Screamed vocals are the main order of business, although the singer is not above varying this on occasion. He does his job well and screams out his invective with ease.
The guitars as a real highlight of this release, partly for the melodies, partly for the Blackened auras they create and partly because of the riffs themselves. Serpentine Creation really seem to be on point here with their writing and I love how they can change from fast, serrated riffs to chunkier, spikier riffs in short spaces of time.
Leads and solos are common and well performed. They add spice to an already tasty meal and it all adds up to an album of really pleasurable Black Metal. Sure, there’s nothing particularly innovative or new here, but who cares? The amount of bands that play innovative or new types of music is vanishingly small compared with what’s out there, and I for one have thoroughly enjoyed The Fiery Winds of Armageddon.
Check them out for yourself and see if you can feel the heat from their apocalyptic winds.
Although I've listened to a wide variety of black metal albums in the past few decades, I've always admired bands who dared to look a bit furthur. At first I really digged the chaotic style but gradually I've become more and more interested in bands who can add a lot of melody without using keyboards. Variation and multiple different tempos are always a huge plus in my little black metal world. I regard these people as skilled artists who do a lot more than venting their anger.
Serpentine Creation from Sophia (Bulgaria) are one of those bands who know a great deal about songwriting and technical craftsmanship. The band is founded out of members from Desolate and Demonism, two well known bands from the Bulgarian underground. Their sole goal was to create melodic black metal and follow their own path. Although they perfectly fit in the modern day satanic black metal scene, they do have a sound of their own, incorporating elements from a variety of metal styles.
Some of the songs on this album reach a very high level. 'The Devastated Heavens', for example, is a classic piece of extreme metal which easily comes close to bands like Immortal or Old Man's Child, but seemingly without keyboards. In fact, another band I'm often reminded of, is Metallica. In some of the riffs and solos I clearly hear influences from the (fallen?) gods of metal. 'The Massacre In God's Kingdom' issues several of them and somehow becomes one of my favorites on this album.
Another huge keyword is 'variation'. Serpentine Creation effortlessly alternates slow, subdued passages with blast beats driven insanity or powerful mid-tempo riffs, usually within the timespan of only one song. This way the album becomes highly enjoyable and remains that way for the entire duration, something black metal often fails to do. The sense of epicness, if that is a word, is also very present on this album. The music has a atmosphere of war and victory in stead of the usual ultra-bleakness.
Now I've been hammering on keyboards a few times in this review and I'll tell you why. When I was a young, stubborn metalhead, I despised those things. Don't ask me why, I think it was because every young, stubborn metalhead hated keyboards in those days. Eventually I've gotten over that and I don't mind them being used today. Hell, as far as I'm concerned you can make decent music with accordeon and banjo. However, not using them forces the band in finding other ways to make their music interesting. Serpentine Creation does that with an impressive variety malignant riffs and pounding drums.
I will leave now with my absolute favorite on this album, 'The Tears Of God'. This mid-tempo song surely has the power to make the almighy one weep, much to the delight of the dark lord, worshipped by this highly talented quartet. If I may give you a recommendation to end this writing: look beyond the mainstream of black metal (yes, there is a black metal mainstream) and you will find gems like this one. Or you can just get your hands on a copy of this one of course, since it is one of the top releases in 2015 as far as black metal is concerned.
http://www.merchantsofair.com/reviews/serpentine-creation-the-fiery-winds-of-armageddon
How many things someone could understand for an album and furthermore for a band just by the artwork. The cover, the photos, the colours which have been used, can give us information even for the musical direction of an album. I don’t say that this is always true, but surely that applies to the new album of Serpentine Creation. The four member band exists since 2001 while since 2004 they are called Serpentine Creation, they came from Bulgaria and they have released one split, one EP and two full length albums. “The Fiery Winds of Armageddon” is their second album which was released in April of 2015 and it contains ten compositions of about forty minutes. As I mentioned before, the artwork of the album can give us a lot of information about what we are going to come across regarding the music of the album. By the cover we can understand that the band deals with Satanism with a more destructive aspect. The chaos, the fire and destruction are the ruling elements. Now musically we can assume that they play a more chaotic, maybe with a more mainstream – professional approach, Black Metal.
By the first track you can understand that the previous assumptions were correct. Serpentine Creation play a heavy, other times fast and chaotic, other times of medium speed and dark Black Metal, which reminds of the Black Metal sound that was the most popular during the second half of the ‘90ies. Indeed, the approach of the band is more professional but without missing out the originality or the spontaneity when needed. So here we will mainly come across medium speed, rhythmic riffing, too dark, full of sentiments and atmosphere. There are also a lot of chaotic – fast outbursts while the compositions don’t lack of beautiful, slow passages. Regarding the compositions, the band has achieved to write very interesting riffs, either those are heavy, melodic with Heavy Metal influences riffs, either they are their faster, heavy but chaotic and destructive ones. Maybe into some parts they will remind you of Dimmu Borgir, but without copying them or reminding them in an annoying level. The tracks have the length that they need in order to evolve completely. The structure of the compositions is quite good and it is not tedious for the listener.
The band is showing that it is consisted of very good musicians as the performance of the instruments is flawless. The guitars with their heavy and warm sound are those which rule the compositions and they achieve to create the atmosphere, the feelings and the images that the band is trying to offer to the listener through its music. The bass is intense and it is audible throughout the entire album, while its lines are interesting. The drums into some parts are quite impressing with their beautiful turnings, violent or massive blastbits and their flawless performance. But into other parts are typical, minimalistic and maybe somehow boring. However, both for the drums the job that has been done is quite good. The vocals are that kind of vocals that I don’t like to listen to. They are heavy, between Black and Death but they are absolutely flat, with no ability to express the different feelings and they will remind you of a lot of other bands. The production puts out a warm and heavy sound but quite dark and threatening. The mixture is very good because it has achieved to add that massive character of the compositions to the sound, but without losing that individual existence of each instrument. Finally, the lyrics are written in English and they describe the destruction after Armageddon and the revenge of demons to god and angels.
In general, the album is quite good. The band has created music so that to address to all the fans of extreme Metal. Surely those of you who are searching for a pure Black Metal release, maybe you should prefer something different. The fans of a more mainstream sound which reminds of Dimmu Borgir, you will surely appreciate this effort.
http://www.orthodoxblackmetal.com/serpentinecreation-thefierywindsofarmageddon2015.php
Πόσα είναι τα πράγματα που μπορεί κανείς να καταλάβει για ένα δίσκο και κατ’ επέκταση για ένα συγκρότημα από τη γραφιστική δουλειά. Το εξώφυλλο, οι φωτογραφίες, τα χρώματα που έχουν χρησιμοποιηθεί, μπορούν να δώσουν πληροφορίες μέχρι και για τη μουσική κατεύθυνση ενός δίσκου. Δε λέω ότι αυτό ισχύει πάντα, αλλά σίγουρα ισχύει για τον καινούριο δίσκο των Serpentine Creation. Το τετραμελές συγκρότημα υπάρχει από το 2001 ενώ από το 2004 ονομάζονται Serpentine Creation, κατάγονται από τη Βουλγαρία και έχουν κυκλοφορήσει ένα split, ένα EP και δύο ολοκληρωμένους δίσκους. Το “The Fiery Winds of Armageddon” είναι ο δεύτερος δίσκος τους ο οποίος κυκλοφόρησε τον Απρίλιο του 2015 και περιέχει δέκα συνθέσεις περίπου σαράντα λεπτά. Όπως ανέφερα προηγουμένως, η γραφιστική δουλειά του δίσκου μπορεί να μας δώσει πολλές πληροφορίες για το τι πρόκειται να συναντήσουμε όσο αφορά στη μουσική του δίσκου. Από το εξώφυλλο μπορούμε να καταλάβουμε ότι το συγκρότημα ασχολείται με το Σατανισμό με μια πιο καταστροφική ματιά. Το χάος, η φωτιά και η καταστροφή κυριαρχούν. Μουσικά τώρα μπορούμε να υποθέσουμε ότι θα παίζουν ένα πιο χαοτικό, ίσως με μια πιο εμπορική – επαγγελματική προσέγγιση, Black Metal.
Από το πρώτο κομμάτι μπορείς να καταλάβεις ότι οι υποθέσεις αυτές ήταν σωστές. Οι Serpentine Creation παίζουν ένα βαρύ, άλλοτε γρήγορο και χαοτικό, άλλοτε μεσαίας ταχύτητας και σκοτεινό Black Metal, το οποίο φέρνει στο μυαλό τον Black Metal ήχο που κυριαρχούσε στο δεύτερο μισό της δεκαετίας του ’90. Πράγματι, η προσέγγιση του συγκροτήματος είναι πιο επαγγελματική χωρίς όμως να χάνεται η αυθεντικότητα ή ο αυθορμητισμός όταν χρειάζεται. Εδώ λοιπόν συναντάμε κυρίως μεσαίας ταχύτητας, ρυθμικά riff, αρκετά σκοτεινά, γεμάτα συναίσθημα και ατμόσφαιρα. Υπάρχουν ακόμα, αρκετά χαοτικά – γρήγορα ξεσπάσματα ενώ δεν λείπουν και τα όμορφα, αργά περάσματα. Συνθετικά το συγκρότημα έχει καταφέρει να γράψει πολύ ενδιαφέροντα riff, είτε αυτά είναι τα βαριά, μελωδικά με αρκετές Heavy Metal επιρροές riff, είτε είναι τα πιο γρήγορα, βαριά αλλά χαοτικά και καταστροφικά τους riff. Ίσως σε μερικά σημεία να σας φέρουν στο μυαλό τους Dimmu Borgir, χωρίς όμως να τους αντιγράφουν ή να τους θυμίζουν σε ενοχλητικό βαθμό. Τα κομμάτια έχουν το μέγεθος που χρειάζεται για να αναπτυχθούν πλήρως. Η δομή των συνθέσεων είναι αρκετά καλή και δεν κουράζει τον ακροατή.
Η μπάντα δείχνει ότι αποτελείται από καλούς μουσικούς καθώς η απόδοση των οργάνων είναι άψογη. Οι κιθάρες με τον βαρύ και ζεστό τους ήχο είναι αυτές που κυριαρχούν στις συνθέσεις και καταφέρνουν να δημιουργήσουν την ατμόσφαιρα, τα συναισθήματα και τις εικόνες που προσπαθεί το συγκρότημα να δώσει στον ακροατή μέσω της μουσικής του. Το μπάσο είναι έντονο και ακούγεται καθ’ όλη τη διάρκεια του δίσκου, ενώ οι γραμμές του είναι ενδιαφέρουσες. Τα ντραμς σε άλλα σημεία είναι αρκετά εντυπωσιακά με όμορφα γυρίσματα, βίαια ή ογκώδη blastbit και άψογο παίξιμο. Σε άλλα σημεία όμως είναι τυπικά, μινιμαλιστικά και ίσως κάπως βαρετά. Παρ’ όλα αυτά, και στα ντραμς έχει γίνει αρκετά καλή δουλειά. Τα φωνητικά είναι αυτά τα φωνητικά που δεν μου αρέσει να ακούω. Είναι βαριά, μεταξύ Black και Death όμως είναι τελείως επίπεδα, ανέκφραστα και θα σας θυμίσουν πολλές άλλες μπάντες. Η παραγωγή βγάζει ένα ζεστό και βαρύ ήχο αλλά αρκετά σκοτεινό και απειλητικό. Η μίξη είναι πολύ καλή γιατί έχει προσπαθήσει και καταφέρει να διατηρήσει αυτόν τον συμπαγή χαρακτήρα των συνθέσεων και στον ήχο, χωρίς όμως να χάνεται και η ατομική υπόσταση του κάθε οργάνου. Τέλος, οι στίχοι είναι γραμμένοι στα Αγγλικά και περιγράφουν την καταστροφή μετά τον Αρμαγεδδών και την εκδίκηση των δαιμόνων στο θεό και στους αγγέλους.
Σε γενική εικόνα ο δίσκος είναι αρκετά καλός. Το συγκρότημα έχει δημιουργήσει μουσική έτσι ώστε να απευθύνεται σε ολόκληρο το κοινό του ακραίου Metal. Σίγουρα όσοι ψάχνεται για μια αμιγώς Black Metal κυκλοφορία, ίσως να επιλέξετε κάτι διαφορετικό. Οι οπαδοί του πιο εμπορικού ήχου που θυμίζει Dimmu Borgir σίγουρα θα εκτιμήσετε την προσπάθεια.
http://www.orthodoxblackmetal.com/serpentinecreation-thefierywindsofarmageddon2015gv.php
Serpentine Creation are a band from Bulgaria that plays a very raw and melodic form of satanic black metal and this is a review of their 2015 album "The Fiery Winds of Armageddon" which was released as a joint effort between Satanath Records, Hass Weg Productions and Nyarlathep Records.
Wind and nature sounds start off the album before the music starts going into more of a heavy and melodic musical direction that also introduces high pitched black metal screams onto the recording and the faster sections bring in a more raw style that also utilizes a great amount of blast beats.
Spoken word parts can be heard in certain sections along with all of the musical instruments having a very powerful sound to them and the songs also bring in a great mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts and when solos and leads are utilized they remain true to the melodic black metal tradition of the recording and the vocals also bring in deep and grim growls in certain sections of the recording while some songs also bring in a brief use of clean playing.
Serpentine Creation plays a style of satanic black metal that is very raw and melodic and owes a great deal to the Swedish style of both classical an modern days, the production sounds very professional, the production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover Satanism and Anti Christian themes.
In my opinion Serpentine Creation are a very great sounding raw and melodic satanic black metal band and if you are a fan of this musical genre, you should check out this album. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "The Fiery Winds of Armageddon" "The Massacre In God's Kingdom" "The Satan's Supremacy" and "The Tears of God".
http://occultblackmetalzine.blogspot.ru/2015/11/serpentine-creationthe-fiery-winds-of.html
Болгарская команда эзотерического блака, который имеет немало приверженцев по нашему земному кубу. Город София вам чего нибудь говорит? Нет? Ну, теперь — да! Это населенный пункт, в котором невозбранно творит, вытворяет группа черно- и чертопоклонников Serpentine Creation. Я специально посчитал на пальцах в скольких командах поучаствовали болгарские музыкальные оккультисты — их около десяти.
Кстати, эти таланты с 2004 года плотно занялись мраком и шумом и уже понавыпускали ряд кругляшей в видах: по одному полноформату (помимо сабжевого), сплиту и эпишке. И если обложки на всех перечисленных были выстроены в труйном и антитруйном стиле, то тот компакт, который мы сейчас послушаем, имеет совершенно иной дизайн — это красно-кровавый-огненный смерч, который собственно и олицетворяет заявленный армагеддон. Шрифт еще применен на облоге — интересный, не могу не заметить, готика какая-то модернизированная. 8-страничный буклет включает в себя тексты песен и также его дизайн решен в алом ключе, как и собственно диск, оставляя приятное впечатление — художник поработал руками и головой.
Этот диск Satanath Records выпустил в тесном сотрудничестве с такими столпами андеграундного производства как Hass Weg Productions (Fra), Nyarlathotep Records (Bra). Ибо материал показался всей этой компании достойным их имперского внимания.
Serpentine Creation выгоняют в своем самогонном аппарате мидтемпо блэк — внятный и в спирто-, смертоносной надежде быть услышанным. И четверка музыкантов старается изо всех сил. Добавляя неистовой мощи и мрака, которые впоследствии по прослушивании так и прут с реального диска. Присовокупляя столько музыкального плана, сколько им показался достойным для оживления главной идеи – воплощения ритуального антимелодического последнего сражения. И потому здесь обозначается стремление к сложному блаку – особенно в применении как мелких аудиальных фишечек, так и внедренных в тело траков свободных, будоражащих воображение партий гитар с множественными соляками. Да и не только.
Ритм-секция Serpentine Creation во многом отличается своей музыкальной упрямостью и консервативностью, нарочито выполняя функцию большого разделочного стола, на котором солистам предлагается блистать сталью ножей и топоров — сиречь своими партиями. И это у них получается естественно, как в хорошем троглодитском фильме ужасов. Пока ритм-секция укрепляет основы траков, гитаристы виртуозно выпиливают своими инструментами дивные куски окровавленной плоти заявленных композиций.
В целом, как кажется, Serpentine Creation решились на создание собственного видения блака — ритм-секционно вполне трушного и олдового, а в гитарной ипостаси — демонстрируя притяжение к более сложному и «красивому» музицированию. Эксперимент удался во многом благодаря богатому инструментальному опыту сотоварищей команды, которые сумели не переломиться на взятом остром рубеже, а уверенно предложить новый концепт, явленный аудиальный экран, где в течение 40 с лишним минут мерцает багровое пламя армагеддона. И становится понятным и осторожность гитарных атак и темповая скупость. Группа бережно наполняет сосуд с ядовитым напитком, стараясь не расплескать ни капли, ибо здесь и капля — хоть и последняя, играет роль. Что, конечно, не может не вызывать уважение.
Поддавайте жару, крутите ручки Volume — иначе «Громкость», вникайте в это варево, — настоящий натуральный продукт от болгарских черных производителей. И конечно пару слов про Влада, который здесь не только отвокалил, но еще и держался за гитару, не забывая терзать ее для самого адского и беспощадного звукоизвлечения. Его манера отстройки голоса «скримо-харша» принадлежит к тем немногим вокалам на профильной черной сцене, которые скользким змеем вьются внутри каждой компо, обвиваясь внутри темповых распорок и сгрызая понемногу податливый смысл, также понемногу выхаркивая во внешний мир полуобглоданные понятия. Таким образом осуществляется связь внутреннего потаенного мира Serpentine Creation с миром «реальным», впадающим в ересь и постепенно пожираемый свободомыслием. Для таких дел вокал Влада — в самый отчаянный раз. Ибо через пару траков вы начнете ощущать его магнетическое влияние и даже определять по нему, как по верному компасу, «север-юг» компо.
К слову, трак The Last Angel прозвучит на этом диске два раза — крайний в виде бонуса с другим вокалистом — Daemonicreator из французской группы Corpus Diavolis (и не только).
Стоит обратить внимание, естественно, именно на реальный диск. Потому что софийская студия «Sub Zero», где прошел мистический ритуал записи, оснащена аппаратурой по такому классу, когда хочется наплевать на мпз и слушать настоящий сверкающий серебром кругляш.
On this album, Bulgarian act Serpentine Creation are a quartet, consisting of Vlad (guitars + vocals), Gormoth (guitars), Mephistophel (drums; he took care of the artwork too), and Jafar (bass). They self-produced The Fiery Winds Of Armageddon with mix and recording at the Sub Zero Studio, with Bebo taking care of engineering and mastering. Result: forty one minutes of modern Death / Black Metal.
There are quite some bands within this specific era dwelling around, especially since Behemoth sort of (re)invented this particular scene three hands full of years ago. Especially the Polish scene took advantage of this ‘popularity’, but it goes further than that. …luckily…
And with Serpentine Creation we do have another comparable act, yet with a highly-standard song-writing and execution. And sound. When coming back to the latter, one might even think of some top-act recording in one or another expensive studio with one or another notorious producer. But no, that’s not the case, but the result is comparable. …referring to the final sound, evidently, and not the song writing or execution.
Though, the latter is pretty satisfying as well. Undersigned might not be that much ‘into’ this specific sub-genre, but what Serpentine Creation bring with The Fiery Winds Of Armageddon is more than all those empty-headed Behemoth-clones we have to cope with lately. Positive elements are the variation in tempo, the inventive structures, the magic melodies, the cool vocals, and the fabulous sound, as mentioned before – the latter being harsh and somehow clean too, which I do not dislike in this album’s case. But above all, it are the technical skills that are remarkably stronger that most of the scene. Writing great stuff is one thing, yet being able to perform it that way too, that’s another story. Well, Serpentine Creation seem to succeed to do both: writing acceptable material at the one hand, and playing it the right way at the other.
There is not one track that can be labeled as outstanding, but as a matter of fact, each single piece is a monument an sich. Every composition has that something ‘more’ to distinct itself from the grey masses; yet again: this kind of Aural Pleasure had been milked out for quite some time, and unfortunately it does not get to its peak again by this effort either. But the opposite is not applicable either, at all!
http://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/serpentine-creation
È passata davvero tanta acqua sotto i ponti da quando incontrai i Serpentine Creation nel lontano 2009. La band era al debutto con "Dystopia", mentre la nostra webzine stava migrando verso i lidi di Blogspot nella sua fase 2.0. In tutta sincerità avevo completamente dimenticato l'esistenza di questo gruppo, fino a quando mi è giunto fra le mani il nuovo album "The Fiery Winds Of Armageddon", rilasciato dal trio di etichette Satanath Records, Hass Weg Productions e Nyarlathotep Records.
Le dieci tracce, comprensive di bonus, narrano dello scontro finale fra le armate degli angeli guidate da Dio e quelle dei demoni infernali capitanati da Satana. Il Maligno prevale, mentre la sua controparte fugge, lasciando al proprio triste destino le truppe angeliche. Come il linguaggio utilizzato nei testi è davvero semplice e scontato, così la musica si rivela priva di scossoni e troppo compatta. Nel black metal dei Serpentine Creation non c'è un singolo riff riconoscibile o una soluzione particolarmente incisiva, tutto è (eccessivamente) nella norma e l'energia malevola che sembra covare non esplode mai: le numerose sezioni rallentate non sono abbastanza pesanti e al contempo le discrete melodie non trovano un contraltare abbastanza greve grazie al quale spiccare per contrasto.
"The Fiery Winds Of Armageddon" non è ciò che definirei come un brutto disco o fastidioso, piuttosto scorre indifferente all'udito, come un'uscita superflua. L'eccezione è rappresentata da "The Picture Of The Great Apocalipse", l'episodio migliore della scaletta sulla scia dei Lord Belial, tuttavia un caso isolato.
http://www.aristocraziawebzine.com/recensioni/7401-serpentine-creation-the-fiery-winds-of-armageddon
Back in 2009 I was able to get ahold of a few copies of a new band from Bulgaria. I was blown away by the quality of that release. "Dystopia" was the name of that album, and it showed a wicked, melodic and at ties epic kind of Black Metal with many Death Metal elements. The overall result was outstanding. One of those lost jewels of killer Black Metal of Death. Well, this is their second album and what was quite impressive with their debut is still here. The musical execution and production values are of high quality, but also the music creation is again killer. To compare the band I will say that it has bits of BEHEMOTH (in the days they were becoming more Death than Black) with a good touch of NECROPHOBIC and DISSECTION, and touches of early MAYHEM and EMPEROR. But just take that as an indication of the style. Each composition shows a lot of creativity, and the band is smart enough to play in many tempos, playing fast or in a slower, semi Doom approach, they never quit that sense of danger and darkness in their music. For a second album, this is some of the best Black / Death Metal with a melodic edge that one can get. Killer riffs and killer execution. And get their first album too!
http://www.voicesfromthedarkside.de/Albums-EPs-Demos/S/SERPENTINE-CREATION--10341.html
A több, mint tíz éve létező bolgár - nem túl sztahanovista - alakulat második albumát tartom a kezemben így most már a kritika megírásának a végén, és elégedetten dőlök épp hátra a székemben. Ha a korábbi néven futó dolgokat (Dystopy) is számolom, akkor tizenöt év az a tíz. A felállás totál klasszikus, vagyis két bárdista, az egyik osztja a szöveget, basszus-, és dobberman.
Érdekes átmenet a thrash és a black metal között, amit az első dal bemutat. A borítóval ez abszolút jól koketál. Jól süt a keretbe foglalt dalszerkezet is. Valahogy olyan a hangulat, mintha az Iced Earth Dark Sagaját hallanám, csak blackes kivitelben (nem, nem a borító mondatja ezt velem). Ez az ötletes reszelés és fekete hangulat a The Great Leaderben is folytatódik. A thrash nálam időnként azon csúszik el, hogy egy nóta egy hangnem, vagy hangnemek panelezése, itt aztán nem erről van szó. A zenei hangulatkeltésnek a klasszikus módon állnak neki a bolgárok, de a korlátokig maximálisan elmennek.
A The Devastated Heavensben viszont nem értem, mi történik a lábdobbal a lassú bevezetőnél. Olyan ugyanis, mintha delay (visszhang) lenne rajta, de ez lábdobnál katasztrófa lenne. Még amire tudok gondolni, hogy mindkét pedált egyszerre rúgja Mephistophel. Ez ötletes, csak minek? :-D No mindegy, ez kevés lenne ahhoz, hogy ne tessék, ami eddig szólt.
Egy jó lemezen a negyedik dal szokta számomra eldönteni, hogy jó, vagy nagyon jó. Ilyenkorra várja a fülem azt a bizonyos változatosságot. Itt ez meg is történik, meg nem is. Ugyanis változik a zene, csak éppen black felől death felé megy egy kicsit. Nem gond, ez max az én ízlésemtől távolodás, a minőségen nem ront semmit. A fasza riffek nem fáradnak ki, a dob is ütős marad, Vlad meg okádik szorgalmasan.
Volt valami fura egyébként a dalokban eddig is, de itt esett le, hogy a basszer Jafar meglehetősen sokat nyúkál felfelé a mackó magasabb húrjaira. Ettől kap az összkép egy jó fajta lüktetést. Nem száz százalékban másolja a gitár alaphangjait, de nem is tér el attól lényegesen. Ez őrzi talán a thrash oldalt, de maga a gitár viszont olyan dallambontásokat, és melódiákat hoz le néha, ami mindenképp black metal.
A hatodik darab, a The Picture of the Great Apocalypse egy kicsit összezavart azzal az érzelmesnek ható bevezetővel, a váltás utána főleg, aztán megint egy lágyulás. Jól csapódik, ötletes, ötletesen klasszikus. Ezek után ütembontások tompított gityó, ami már több számban is megjelent. Úgy látszik, ez az eszköz nagyon bejöhet nekik. Nem baj, mert nekem is.
A The Last Angelben már meglepődtem épp, hogy Vlad lemegy egy egészen mély orgánumig a torkával, aztán elolvastam a borítón, hogy a vendég nem más, mint a Corpus Diavolis torok Daemonicreator... Most úgy tettem, mintha tudnám, ki az, pedig nem. Viszont maga a dal is elér egyfajta mélyülést a 41 percnyi CD zenei ívében.
az 1 perc 47 másodperc beszédes volt, azon billegtem, hogy ambient tétel lesz-e a The Mockery of Dead Angels' Bodies vagy dara. Utóbbi.
Kíváncsi lennék a banda élő teljesítményére, mivel ez az a fajta cucc, amit nagyon lehet zúzni, és a közönség is szokta venni a lapot, mert tiszta, érthető minden. A Satanath szokásához híven két másik kiadóval dolgozott, ezek a francia Hass Weg és a brazil Nyarlathotep Records (nem vágom Lovecraft írásait, de kitaláltam, hogy tőle jön ez a blőd, de valahogy mégis elrettentő elnevezés eredetileg - Nyarlathotep). A borító nagyon szép, a zene nagyon jól kevert, egyszóval igényes kiadvány ez.
41 percben összefoglalt, közép / gyorsabb tempós, faszán megírt metallemez ez, ahol minden hangszer a helyére került, és a basszusgitáros mer a magasabb tartományokban is létezni. Ügyes kivonata a stílus alfajainak. Mindenképpen olckúl pofák mozzanjanak rá, itt nincsenek nagy megfejtések, az újítás nyilván nem volt cél, helyette a műfaj klasszikus elemeinek mesteri használata jön át. Úgy tud a Serpentine Creation klasszikus fémet zenélni, hogy meglepetések is vannak.
http://www.femforgacs.hu/kritika/3564/Serpentine_Creation_The_Fiery_Winds_of_Armageddon_2015
Como casi siempre ocurre, la tapa de un disco nos da mucha información sobre su contenido. Y así es en este caso, ya que los búlgaros Serpentine Creation desde su mismísima portada (caos, fuego, destrucción) nos dan la pauta de que aquí tenemos black metal. Y del bueno.
Anclado en el sonido de la segunda mitad de los 90’s, “The fiery winds of armageddon” nos propone black rápido, pesado y caótico, pero sin por esto renunciar al profesionalismo.
Las guitarras son las que gobiernan las composiciones y que consiguen crear la atmósfera, redundando en general un álbum bastante bueno, pero que se presume un tanto standard. Aquellos que están en busca de algo más elaborado, tal vez deban buscar en otro lado, pero si lo tuyo es el black convencional, seguramente apreciarás este esfuerzo.
http://rockarollazine.blogspot.ru/2016/11/serpentine-creation-fiery-winds-of.html
Mnogo više sam očekivao. Mnogo bolje. Od pogleda na dobro rešenje omota, do naziva pjesama, sve je obećavalo jednu ludu Black Metal vožnju. A dobio sam, u najboljem slučaju, jedan bljedunjavi, ravan rollercoaster.
Dalo se naslutiti već u startu da ovdje ne treba očekivati sirovi, “old school” Black Metal. Pretjerano upeglana produkcija je uspjela upropastiti i daleko bolja izdanja od drugog albuma ove Bugarske skupine. Riješio sam ipak da ne sudim prebrzo. Pustio sam vrijeme da teče, a redale su se pjesme u kojima je potpuno promašena tema. Agresivni, sotonistički tekstovi su praćeni prilično mlakim instrumentalnim dionicama. Na momente i muzika ume postati agresivnija, ali to vrlo uspješno opet iskontrolira prepeglana produkcija. Povremene atmosferične solaže ne pomažu ni najmanje. Očigledno je da ova četvorka iz Sofije za svirati Black Metal, znaju oni što je potrebno da bi nešto bilo nazvano tim imenom, problem je, čini mi se, da se oni moraju odlučiti kojom podvrstom ovog žanra žele da se bave.
Muziciranje je na vrhunskom nivou, što se i dalo očekivati od ovako iskusnog benda, ali na kompozitorskim vještinama treba još mnogo da se poradi. Možda bi momci mogli i da produciranje, kojim su se ovdje sami pozabavili, ostave nekom drugom. Najsvjetlija točka ovog izdanja je bez ikakve sumnje omot, kojim se bavio isti čovjek koji je “prebio” bubanj na ovom disku. Ostalo je sve, uz malo dobre volje, prosjek.
Uz ovaj album mi je stigao i novi EP ovog benda, tako da ću uskoro imati priliku i da čujem da li je ovaj album samo jedan neuspjeli pokušaj ili ovaj bend ne ume bolje.
http://metaljacketmagazine.com/recenzija-serpentine-creation-the-fiery-winds-of-armageddon/
Serpentine Creation is a Band from Bulgaria that was formed in 2004. ''The Fiery Winds Of Armageddon'' is their second Full Length Album, Co-release of Satanath Records (Russia) with Hass Weg Productions (France) and Nyarlathotep Records (Brazil) available in 500 copies.
Furious and truly grim black metal is born from the howls of as furious and cold wind, that was taken as a short intro. Riffs and lyrics are direct like a punch, scream vocal reminds me of those on Astaroth's ''Violent Soundrack Martyrum'', which I adore. Razor sharp riffs, varying from dark melancholic to darkly epic, clean-guitar parts, potent and dark tremolos and beautiful melodies that are mixed and intertwined like arabesques are developing in a pretty convincing tone. Here we have an aggressive, gloomy and fast melodies, and the whole sinister atmosphere reminded me of Dark Funeral's. This band has all of black metal features that I like, combined with style in their own way. We have riffs which remind me of Anal Natraak, where we get the bass pedal following a guitar hitch, and some fast tremolo melodies and some riffs' aggressiveness reminded me of Marduk. Slow and dark Dissection-like chord decompositions are alternating with great thrashy riffs like those on Dimmu Borgir's ''Puritanical Euphorical Misanthropia'', connected through the solid build of demonic tremolos. The songs are excellent and they develop swiftly, crowned with discrete solos made to perfectly fit into nocturnal spirit of the songs.
http://bogotacreviews.blogspot.ru/2017/01/serpentine-creation-is-band-from.html