Transcending Obscurity certainly knows how to sign and release quality Black Metal. This year alone has seen high tier stuff from Decipher and Burial Hordes. Now, Serpent of Old looks to join that pantheon. A brand new band from Turkey, their debut album Ensemble Under the Dark Sun promises long form excellence, if the promo sheet is to be believed. These sheets can be deceiving, though. Does this snake slither its way to success or does it end up eating its tail instead?
At its core, Serpent of Old writes their music in a style akin to The Chasm meets Ulcerate. It’s mostly a blend of Progressive Melodic Blackened Death Metal, but there are moments of dissonance sparsely throughout the material. What I find most compelling about this material is the fact that while half of the album doesn’t go below the 8 ½ minute mark, the songs are interesting enough to justify the length. For example, “Unsaturated Hunger and Esoteric Lust” constantly changes throughout its nearly 9 minute runtime and adds in a tasteful solo close to the very end of it. All of these songs are unpredictable in the best way possible, and none of them feel out of place on this album. Even the interlude is notable, punctuated by its use of choral chanting that comes directly out of left field but still somehow works. Serpent of Old have demonstrated that they are incredibly capable of writing long-form songs that keep the listeners engaged throughout, something a lot of bands fail to do. I think this Turkish group has an incredibly promising future ahead of them if they continue in the same vein and expand.
