Artist: Serpent Mass
Country: Belgium
Label: De Pankraker Records
Formats: LP
Year: 2025
Serpent Mass hails from Ghent, Belgium, and saw its formation in 2016. At that time, Kosmokrator members J. Witchfvkker and J. Deathhammerer joined forces in a different entity, to convert their filthiest musical fantasies into a new project. Eventually joined by M. Bestial Nekromancer, the power trio released their first demo ‘Mass of the Serpent’ in 2019 on digital and tape formats. Bestial Nekromancer left and was replaced by trusty Kosmokrator bandmate T. Conjurer, which ultimately led to the recording of another demo, 2023’s ‘Odious Gateways’. Not averse to a bit of disgusting sounding Metal, De Pankraker Records now combined both those demo releases, appearing for the first time on shining black LP.
While there are subtle differences between both demos, the musical direction of the band has been rather consistent. It’s also pretty much the only subtle thing about Serpent Mass. With a sound that is downtuned and heavy on the bass, Serpent Mass produces a heavy, hectic and barbaric form of Black Metal that flirts with Death Metal in terms of tuning and production. The most obvious musical similarities lie inparticular with early Archgoat as well as Beherit, and a flair of Teitanblood is certainly present as well.
As for the difference between both sides, ‘Mass of the Serpent’ is the heavier of the two. Most of the riffs are pretty minimal, and drenched in this heavy sound is aiming mostly for a bludgeoning wild and heavy style. But the occasional break adds groove with all the accompanying Archgoat church bells and keyboard whistles. While a hammer to the face is the most frequent weapon of choice, this particular demo is not entirely devoid of atmosphere. Especially a track like ‘Grand Conjuration of the Master of the Revolted, Lucifer’ is rather disturbing, in terms of twisted riffs, haunting keyboards and an overall feeling of suffocation. The vocals by M. Bestial Nekromancer manifest more as ferocious cries and shrieks, and together with a slight distortion and reverb effect they remind me of Bølzer or the excellent Imha Tarikat EP ‘Kenoboros’. These are one of the differences on ‘Odious Gateways, as the vocals of J. Witchfvkker lean a bit more towards grunts. In comparison, the later demo of the two features a slightly more muffled and less overwhelming production. With this clearer sound, the songwriting has been expanded, and groovy bits and pieces lean slightly towards Death Metal and even Sludge. But mostly this gives more room for the eerie whistling keyboards. It makes a song like ‘Circle of Black Apparitions / In Nefarious Names’ just that little bit more disturbing and entrancing. At the same time, a track like ‘Rot on the Cross, Scum of Bethlehem’ clearly creeps into a classic Bolt Thrower direction in terms of riffs and Grindy drum style, but the Black Metal remains omnipresent, in particular within the slowly dragging end with keys.
Based on primal Black Metal with a solid dose of Death Metal infused, the barbaric approach with haunting keys of Serpent Mass is highly entertaining. I’m especially drawn towards the older demo for its more ferocious and cruder sound, but with more emphasis on Death Metal riffs, increased atmosphere and more elaborate song structures the second demo shows a clear progression in terms of songwriting. It’ll be interesting to see what the band brings next, but for now, this release nicely captures a sound from Serpent Mass that’s not too common amongst their Belgian peers.
