Occult-themed black metal is the order of the day from this Polish trio. Suitably esoteric artwork, themes of dark, destructive magic and spiralling, jagged riffs – what more could a follower of the blasphemic arts ask for?
Well, a decent production for starters. As soon as opener ‘Invocation – Manifest’ starts, it’s obvious something is up with the drum sound on this record. Whether it’s some issue with triggering or just a strange way of mic-ing things up, the drums sound utterly abysmal – thin, clicky, fake and with no power or body whatsoever. Add that to an uninspired vocal performance from mainman ‘W’ who simply bellows ‘CHAOS!!! INVOKED!!!’ over and over again, it’s not a great start.
Thankfully, what could have quickly become a chore of a listen steps up after this opening misfire and the rest of ‘Secret Serpent’ showcases a band with plenty of ideas and ability in the tank. ‘Eternal Threat’ boasts some pretty meaty riffs that stray just on the right side of primitive barbarism, ‘The New Aeon’ adds some subtle and eerie clean guitars into the mix whilst the album title track is high in both the quality AND quantity of riffs. The chiming lead lines that drape over the song as it reaches its climax show that Kaoskult are a far better band than the clunker of the album opener would suggest.
The latter song in particular has echoes of Watain’s earlier material – sinewy guitar lines married to a driving rhythm section and some lung-bursting vocal roars. Slight Scandinavian flourishes abound in the minor-key patterns that threat through the track, bleeding into the album’s final ‘one-two’ of ‘Primal (Chaos)’ and ‘Words of Power’.
Pretty strong stuff then, held back only by the neutered sound of the drums – I don’t want to harp on but it robs what are otherwise decent, compelling songs of a lot of their power and ends up being something of a distraction from proceedings. It’s a shame as the rest of the sound is fine – snarling guitars, growling bass, echoing vox – but those drums… sigh.
‘Secret Serpent’ is a decent album – nothing mind-blowing but with enough tasty riffs to keep the listener engaged throughout. It’s let down by some pretty standout flaws unfortunately but I’d certainly keep an eye (and ear) out for what these guys release next.
(7/10 Frank Allain)
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