Formed a long way ago, in 2004, These bunch of Finnish musicians definitely want to turn your heads haywire and leaves your ears yearn for more horror. After thrashing for such a long time, they have finally come out with their full length album in September 2011. THE SERPENT CREATION is a furious offering with some casual Death Metal element in them. However they had a much classical sounding demo.
The first track DESTROYER OF TIME portrays a nice blend of the two genres, though it sounds more thrashy than black. However they have kept it nice and mild without delving much into the raw essence of the Black Metal. The second track POISON OF GOD actually shows the listener the band’s love towards the Thrash Metal genre. A beautiful blend of mild blast beats and shredding accompanying with a pretty switch over from furious tremolo picking to palm mute shows the mightiness of the band. This track would definitely qualify to be my favorite track from the album. The third track FOR THY CRIMSON GLORY portrays the alternative twining of Black Metal and Thrash Metal converying the band’s musical scenario to the audience perfectly.
The next two songs BURIAL GROUND PRAYERS and SHE WHO DWELLS BEYOND DEATH has a very subtle thrashy side to itself. The song is characterized with groovy and catchy riffs which ornaments any Thrash Metal band. Also including a dark scent in the song, gifting it with a different twist, yet again! The title track THE SERPENT CREATION is the first official "music video" of the band directed by Sami Jamsen/Riot Unit. The video shows blood, pain and suffering etc, coordinating with their lyrical themes, that mainly revolves around "satan" and "occult". The video’s direction is great and as required though I couldn’t find any direct link between the video and the song. The last two songs are titled HANNIBAL and DREAMS OF SCIPION. The fillers in the song apply a good element of melody to the song and unlike other Black Metal bands who strictly prefer constant shredding and blastbeats.
After listening to the whole album, It can be safely concluded that FORGOTTEN HORROR keeps the balance between the two genres right and the tempo changes are perfectly managed. The vocals section are apt for thrash genre, however for the black sections are not that high pitched. The drumming through each style is super and maintains a nice steady footwork.
As the debut album, THE SERPENT CREATION is a great start and worth the whole wait. The album certainly provides an awesome impression of skill and aggression with smooth tempo changes.
Bottom Line
If someone appreciates both the styles (Black and Thrash Metal) equally, then this CD is a total WIN !
