Towards the Damned

First of all: What an amazing cover! This atmospheric artwork sets the mood for what is coming next once the play button has been hit. Heavy metal straight out of Greece seldom disappoints and Serpent Lord surely are not the ones breaking this trend. Alcyone Records have taken care of releasing their full length debut titled “Towards the Damned”.

Epic harmonies are alternating with crunchy riffs that while not necessarily offering something completely new are played with so much energy and freshness that missing innovation does not bother me. The two guitarists George and Lazaros are not afraid of thinking just a little bit outside of the box adding a few twists to the trademark chops of each track. They know their instruments and while there are some more extended soloing parts they keep the main focus on the harmonies and the song structures. Some of the chords have a bit of a more (hard) rock feel to them, while others dip into slightly doomy territory, adding another layer to the music.

The crunchy heaviness of the rhythm guitar is permanently pitched against the fantastic harmonies of the lead guitar lending the whole affair a very uplifting atmosphere. The guys have a great feeling for hooky riffs and catchy refrains making each song as much fun to listen to as the one before. As long as you are a fan of traditional metal you will not find any reason to complain.

The songwriting is top notch and the guys exactly knew where they wanted to go. The song structures are well defined following the traditional verse-chorus formula for the most part and the overall placement of the single tracks in the context of the album led to it being easily enjoyable. That being said Serpent Lord have implemented a few details making their work stand out from the pack. Shorter and longer soloing parts working as bridge elements or trademark chords being used slightly varied in other sections give the whole record a very stringent character.

The drumming is straight-forward and while there are a lot of faster sections and a lot of details like fills or a few rhythm changes to highlight certain parts it never feels nervous or chaotic. The band has put a lot of emphasis on presenting stringent songs and a nicely flowing album. While the instrumentation is top notch personal egos have to take a back-seat with the songs as such being put front and center.

Singer Marios got a really pleasing and powerful voice. His delivery is top notch and he is able to highlight the softer parts as well as putting a lot of energy into the faster and heavier sections. I really like the mellow timbre of his voice and in my opinion he can stand his ground against some of the biggest names of the genre.

Coming with a clear and punchy yet organic production “Towards the Damned” is a nice little gem. Purists and fans of traditional metal cannot go wrong by adding this album to their collection.