Description

Debris Of Faith is the debut album from Polish black/death metal horde Serpent Seed. With a few of the members having spent time in other bands, most notably Lugburz and War, Serpent Seed may be a newcomer to the black metal scene, but their diverse and mature songwriting that belies their short tenure. Debris Of Faith features seven tracks and almost forty minutes of black metal with a good chunk of death metal influence among others. From the opening notes of “Demons Blade” the listener is assaulted with sweltering trem riffing, fast paced yet precise drumming and growled, gravely vocals. While the beginning may sound like any number of black metal bands, Serpent Seed’s sound begins to unfold as the album continues. The trem riffing develops into chaotic, swirling melodies as the drums build into blasting, pushed forth by a rumbling, low end. Tracks like “Mother Night” and “Serpent Seed” show the band utilizing their melodic, classy trem passages amid blasting drums, bringing a dark and vitriolic sound. The riffing is varied throughout and the guitarists show they certainly have chops, as some posh solos are strewn throughout the album; accentuating the melodies instead of just noodling away. As mentioned earlier, this is a rather varied album, so it’s not all trem-driven black metal. Indeed, tracks like “I Spit on Your Cross” and “Plonie Stos” bring some rollicking thrash rhythms and a dash of unholy swagger, while the monolithic closing track, “Unholy Trinity”, brings a more nuanced, approach, with slow building melodic licks that unfold into rhythmic, pulsing palm muting. When combined with the swirling trem riffing and heavy handed rhythm section, Debris Of Faith becomes a truly diverse yet blatantly heavy album. Combining second wave histrionics with a chunk of death metal influence and a sweltering swagger, Serpent Seed has clearly set out to make a name for themselves. The band might sound more ferocious with a fuller production, but perhaps they would lose some of their nuanced edge. As far as debuts go, Debris Of Faith is definitely a solid start and I look forward to what these guys bring next.

Track list:
1. Demons Blade
2. I Spit On Your Cross
3. Mother Night
4. Płonie Stos
5. Unholy Trinity
6. Serpent Seed
7. Bloody Vengeance