Serpent Crown

Serpent Crown hit my radar back when HPGD did the CD bundles that got their back-stock into the hands of others for very cheap. I'm glad it only costed me a buck, because over the years, I cannot get this band to grow on me. Simply titled Serpent Crown, the Bay Area thrashers do little to reflect what comes to mind when thinking of classics within their category. With only six songs, it's a brief listen, adding slight punk flavors to the overall taste.

On paper, this sounds great, but Serpent Crown falls into the category of albums where the vocals alone absolutely tank the whole release. They're admittedly unique for the more straightforward thrash sound, having a coarse, belting nature to them, yielding almost no variation other than VERY slight changes in aggression. I think part of the issue is the fact that this mixes poorly with the music. Had this been way more on the hardcore end, or perhaps was backed by powerviolence riffing/slamming, it may have fit nicer.

Since that isn't the case, things mix like water and oil. It also doesn't help that even stripping this away, you get pretty basic thrashing for a good majority of the release that does little to invoke interest. I'll say that the build-up in "Doomsayer," thanks mostly to the drums, boasted a bit of an energetic rush. Weirdly, the fact that "The Trickster" dips into the groovy pool actually enhances this track, allowing for at least something to stand out. But the rest of this can't makeup for the unpleasantness of the vocals.

I never bothered to check out the following release. Perhaps there is some potential, as this isn't the worst thing I've ever heard. But the taste that Serpent Crown leave on their first outing gives me little incentive to keep going forward. There are probably some changes that could be made to fix this, starting by deciding if they want to do the more accessible thrash that the music suggests, or some form of extreme punk that the attitude and vocals nod towards. The two can work well together sometimes, but this aint it.

Discovering Serpent Crown earlier this year really went against all my expectations. I believe I initially clicked in their direction upon glimpsing the oddly evocative amateur drawing on this debut album, pressed play, and was converted within five minutes. Those five minutes were taken up by ‘No Beacon of Light’, which is the opening track on Serpent Crown, taking in down-tuned groove and thrashy energy, along with a melodic sensibility and instrumental command that reminds of some less extreme death metal acts doing the rounds today. By the time I had witnessed the group’s first guitar lead and bonafide twin guitar riff on ‘Prelude to the Netherworld’, I was sold.

Let me make it clear, however, that Serpent Crown does not possess a twin guitar attack, nor the gang of hairy guys you’re imagining. Manila-born singer/guitarist Dara Santhai actually isn’t a guy at all (she’s a woman instead), while fans of recent Death Angel material may recognize the name of Will Carroll, who played in both bands before eventually opting for the older group as a full-time job. Along with Dave Dinsmore on bass, they craft heavy grooves rather than an all-out riff assault, leaving Serpent Crown with the odd distinction of being catchy in the guitar department and aggressive in terms of vocals owing to Santhai’s raw shout ringing out in especially pissed manner. Numerous bands can be heard emanating from the songs, from Prong on the one hand to Gomorrah (UK death/groove/thrash band from the ‘90s) on the other. The bass tone pumps clearly through the boom of the guitar, while Carroll produces everything from steady snare hits to blastbeats, which is how ‘To Leave This Land’ develops.

Each of the six songs proves interesting enough to be absorbing from start to finish, rarely picking up the pace much beyond medium and often sticking to a groove until it has been used to maximum effect. As such, a slight element of stoner comes into the repetition, a feature that would be more fully explored on the sophomore, while the judgement of each individual riff must be carefully made. The lurching progress of ‘Doomsayer’ therefore steps just slightly over the line in terms of repetition, forming a surging effort with the main riff of Slayer’s ‘Black Magic’, though not fully developing the idea, as happens on ‘Prelude to the Netherworld’, which progresses from melodic idea to technical riff and on into an excellent solo. Efforts to be more atmospheric colour the epic heavy metal of ‘To Leave This Land’ and especially ‘Children of the Night’, a more rhythmic version of a Trouble riff supporting Santhai’s yells as they turn more expressive.

Such variety and mixing of styles might sound confusing and messy, but they twine together into one of the more exciting releases I’ve listened to this year. The brevity of Serpent Crown works in its favour, keeping the listener guessing for 28 minutes packed full of twists, turns, and solid performances. I can’t quite claim that I was knocked out by the quality of the whole thing, though I was surprised at how complete the package sounded. And that’s the kind of surprise I like.