| Hailing from the ever-rising Montreal death metal scene, SERPENT CORPSE are at once foreign and familiar. Blood Sabbath, their full-length debut following a 2021 demo, initially feels resolutely old school: straightforward songwriting, analog production, little flash but full fire.
Indeed, SERPENT CORPSE proudly wear their influences from the early '90s—most notably the world-eating enormity of classic Bolt Thrower and the vigorous D-beating of early Entombed. But it’s their own twisted spin on these elements—and the maniacal fervor with which they pursue them—that proves traditional, all-caps DEATH METAL is undying and infinite.
The deeper one sinks into the ichor of Blood Sabbath, the more these unique traits emerge: hints of Darkthrone during their death metal days, the death 'n' roll swagger of Seance, the gluey, suffocating grime of classic Cianide, and especially the unhinged transition of Autopsy into Abscess. As these nuances take shape, the exemplary songwriting begins to truly shine... or rot, as it were.
This nine-song, 39-minute album is as slimy as it is headbanging, with singed and seared leads that define haunting. Vocalist/bassist Andrew Haddad delivers powerfully clear annunciation, further elevating the assault, while Lucas Korte’s mesmerizing cover art seals the morbid deal.
SERPENT CORPSE have delivered one of the most essential death metal debuts in recent memory. A festering death awaits!
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