SERPENTS OATH: Revelation
Release year: 2023
Label: Odium Records
I’ll let you in on a little secret. Sometimes, the decision of what I pick for review from the promo download queue is made based on a sampling of mere seconds. This happens especially when I’m looking for padding between two albums of a similar kind. And recently, there’s been much need for it: we received a promo package of recent ambient releases by Zoharum, and having two or more releases of that back to back for review is just too much in so many ways. I needed something in between.
And so, I dug into the never ending stream of digital promos, sampling dozens of releases for seconds before deciding it didn’t sound interesting in the least. I guess it could be seen as a token tribute to Belgian Serpents Oath that they managed to hold my interest for a few seconds more – enough time to make the decision to use them as padding. Eh, that doesn’t sound very flattering, does it?
And to be honest, a major reason for choosing Revelation was that it sounded so thoroughly familiar and safe. From that short sampling, I could tell that their brand of black metal would indeed serve as a suitable in-between palate cleanser. Still not managing to exactly flatter the Belgians, am I?
But it’s true. If you’ve ever listened to a black metal album or two, let alone spent over a quarter of a century listening to the genre (like I have), Revelation will not offer up any revelations. This is an entirely run-of-the-mill, generic and even derivative piece of standard black metal. Originality is a word not known in these corners.
In other words, speeding tempos, sawing guitars, the occasional discordant melody, venomously snarling vocals, and overall moods of darkness, evil and gloom. From the early 90’s onwards, this has been the basic blueprint of black metal, and this is where Serpents Oath’s take on the style starts.
And stops, pretty much.
Did I already use the word generic? I did? Well, we can use it twice, because it truly describes Serpents Oath’s third album stylistically.
However, as I’ve oft remarked, originality is just one of the pieces that make a good album. On a purely technical level, Serpents Oath are certainly proficient enough. The musicianship sounds sufficiently tight, the arrangements are done with taste, the songs don’t fall apart and the sound is pretty adept for the style: clear, but not sterile.
Sadly, the lack of originality means there’s also a distinct lack of oomph in the songwriting department. This stuff is technically proficient, but entirely unable to awaken any kind of passion or excitement in the listener. I sit here and listen to Revelation, nodding in a disinterested sort of agreement with how nicely functional the album is, but so entirely unremarkable it fails to leave any kind of lasting impressions.
So, uh… I guess if you’re a diehard for mainly fast, traditional black metal with some nods to sinister melodies, Revelation might possibly be somewhat interesting. Probably not, though. This is one of those annoyingly vague albums, in a way: it’s all very competent and well done and nice job lads, but… well… where’s the thing I’m supposed to be excited about? What in this should I feel awed at? I just don’t hear it.
Only Death Is Real 