Of Things Seen & Unseen is the sophomore full length by UK-based Serpent Venom, after Carnal Altar. This new full album was recorded at the Skyhammer Studio in Autumn 2013 with nobody else but Chris Fielding at the helm - think Conan, Moss, The Wounded Kings, Ageless Oblivion or Electric Wizard, amongst tens of others. And once again it brings a somewhat traditional-based but pretty heavy and powerful form of Doom Metal with a vibe à la the late seventies / eighties / early nineties. There’s a lot of Trouble in it, and hints of Black Sabbath, Pentagram, Saint Vitus, Cathedral or Solitude Aeternus, but despite the lack of originality, the quality of the tracks is truly satisfying. First of all, Of Things Seen & Unseen comes with a sound so heavy and powerful, yet still focused on melody rather than aggression. Nice, because it would be too easy (and extremely infantile) to reconvert these two elements. Also the symbiosis of 21st-century’s techniques mixed with old schooled basics is done very decently. And the performance and compositions / song writing, well, who can call himself / herself a fan of ‘true’ traditional Doom without at least appreciating the initial purport of Serpent Venom’s Doom epics.
I know this is a very short review, but I’ve said / written everything…