Self Released 2011
1.We The Serpent Seed 2.Cataclysm 3.Plague Upon Plague 4.Omega Cult
5.The Faceless Phrophet 6.Angel Of Endless Hunger 7.Cruciatus Vobiscum
8.War Is Worship 9.The Insidious Gospel 10.Serpent Messiah
A very epic sounding beginning to opening track “We The Serpent Seed”, hints of slower and more epic Nile on show. It’s a very good start and the track continues in a mid-paced epic theme, aspects of black metal present within the guitar riffing. Vocals are spiteful and hateful, tending to be in the “screamed” almost black metal range. When the pace is slowed, variety is added vocally through the use of sung, almost chant like passages, again very epic sounding and again reminiscent of Nile. ‘Cataclysm’ showcases even more of the bands black metal influence, mixed perfectly with a hint of death metal and the result is excellent. The track takes on a very Swedish black/death metal sound – Necrophobic anyone? Some of the riffing is extremely catchy and what makes IC stand out is the pace. It would be very easy to blast over the ice cold blackened riffing, but instead the band stay in the slow to mid-paced bracket and it works really well. Not falling into that “just another blasting non-descript extreme metal band” trap.
‘Plague Upon Plague’ see’s the band delving into even catchier, yet still black metal as fuck song writing. There’s a great mix of black and death metal and again the pace is ‘held back’. The guitar tone really begins to shine through on this track; a heavy almost gravelly tone used which suits the Swedish influence to their song writing perfectly and gives them a definite Swedish sound. Death metal forms the back bone of ‘Omega Cult’, sounding slightly different from the previous tracks and a more melodic approach is undertaken, even the bass can be heard ‘doing its own thing’ under some of the really melodic passages. The chorus lines sound monstrously epic here, extremely catchy and as seen before, almost chant like in approach. ‘The Faceless Prophet’ takes a slightly different theme and sadly falls a bit flat compared to the high standards set in the tracks before it. It’s not a bad track by any means, just doesn’t quite live upto what has already been witnessed. Thankfully ‘Angel Of Endless Hunger’ blasts in and ‘normal service is resumed’. There’s a real spiteful feel to this track, the vocals once again leading the barrage of hate. A totally different feel once again on ‘Cruciatus Vobiscum’, the pace being slowed to a crawl, a blackened nasty heaving pit of unpleasantness but ultimately black metal and although slow, immensely epic and brutal. Even more melody is introduced through the use of acoustic guitars which works extremely well and adds to the overall sense of hate and melancholy.
Big surprise as ‘War Is Worship’ opens up! Blast beats blazing in a storm of hate and over some hateful black metal riffing. The blasts are used sparingly, but to great effect and adds some variety into the album. ‘The Insidious Gospel’ up’s the pace slightly and the melodic black/death metal again used to great effect, the guitars sound heavy as fuck here, especially in the slower sections. However, as ever, the black metal influence is not held back for long and adds to the atmosphere created throughout the whole cd. It also sees the band at their catchiest, mixing melody with an epic feel to create some real ‘head nodding’ extreme metal. Closing proceedings is ‘Serpent Messiah’, an absolute monster of a track, the melodic blackened death metal in full use here; it’s a great way to close an amazing cd. Hatefilled and scathing, this final track has many twists and turns, but is a fitting finale. Really can’t rate this highly enough, yet again we see a shining example of the really high standard being set in the UK extreme metal underground. First class black/death metal, full of hate, melody and evil, this disc comes very highly recommended. Even more appealing is the disc design, extremely professional and setting a high standard for an unsigned band. Take note, this is how it should be done!
9 out of 10
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