Debris of Faith

When i asked their label to give me more information they answered me that you don’t need to know a lot of information about Serpent Seed as their album speaks for itself. Serpent Seed is a four-member band from Poland that it came from nowhere and it releases its first full length album called “Debris Of Faith”. The album contains seven compositions of about thirty eight minutes of overall duration. The music that the band present us here is heavy, melodic Death/Black. Even by the first track those words of their label are confirmed. The listener can immediately notice some elements which show that the work that follows is a one of the high quality works. But will this first good impression continue to the whole duration of the album?

The album combines nicely the heavy Death riffing with the beautiful Black melancholic passages and the violent, chaotic outbursts. So although that the majority of the riffs will remind you of a Death Metal band, some small elements but mainly the very dark atmosphere, make the scale to balance between the two genres. The riffs are heavy, mainly melodic and they create very easily and vividly the dark atmosphere which characterizes the tracks. Also the listener will come across a lot of passages other times rhythmic, other times slow, other times violent as also some beautiful solos that they function correctly making the composition reach its peak. As you understand the variety that the tracks have regarding the riffs, is big but at the same time the changes are done in a very smooth way something that shows how well crafted the compositions are. the structure of the tracks is very good as the band has managed to connect all of its ideas correctly in a duration that does not exceeds the six minutes of duration per track. So on one hand the compositions don’t become long and tedious, on the other hand they surely don’t give the feeling of hasty, even the oposite.

Moreover, regarding the instruments, their performance is flawless. The guitars, which are the instruments that lead into the compositions, they have clean and heavy sound, they are played with accuracy but without lacking in feelings and passion. They create the atmosphere of the tracks and they make the feelings of the tracks come alive with their beautiful and expressing style of play. The bass fills the sound but it is almost inaudible. Also the drums have much variety concerning their lines as we come across from slow, solid lines, to rhythmic Thrash and violent, speed and chaotic. They are played with accuracy but i think they somehow lack in passion and intensity. The vocals are expressing, heavy Death vocals that they fit to the style of the album perfectly. The production generally is clean and bass. It is so bass in order to give that heavy, thick and dark character to the sound and it is so clean in order all the riffs to be audible but also the solid character of the compositions to be maintained. The mixture, if we exclude the abscence of the bass, it is good as it has succeded to offer a quite balanced and massive sound. The lyrics are written in English but they were not included into the promo that i received.

So what is the most surprising into this release is the fact that while the band is a new one, it seems as they have been working together on these compositions for a lot of time. They show the experience and the maturity of a band which is together since many years, something that is rare and very promising for their future. This album is a very good release which creates a lot of expectations for their future while it can be suitable to the Death as much as to Black Metal fans equally. The fans of Death/Black buy this immediately. The rest of you listen to it as it deserves your attention.