SERPENTCULT – Raised By Wolves
- Posted on 29-10-2011
Belgian doom from this three-piece who prefer sprawling arrangements, psychedelic vocals and this foreboding sense of sludge a la Eyehategod or High On Fire with a little more groove behind it. 4 songs that take up 38 minutes of your time, the guitar riffs are very simplistic and repetitive, and often sound effects set up the background for how Serpentcult will approach the mood of a song- such as the cascading rain that falls on “Crippled And Frozen”.
The minimalist vocal approach gives the bass and drums more of a prominent feature for the band, making a song like “Longing For Hyperborea” a tumultuous affair as the low tuned sonic atmosphere makes you feel like you are plunging headlong into the deepest ocean without any hope of a safe return.
Serpentcult are an act that I certainly have to be in the right frame of mind to fully enjoy. Patience is a virtue when the parts are hypnotic and appear to drone on forever. “Raised By Wolves” possesses enough trio chemistry to gain attention through the doom underground.