- Country: United States
- Style: Thrash metal / Melodic black metal
- Label: Prosthetic Records
- Release date: 25 October 2013
Eleven songs in just over half an hour, recorded with Kurt Ballou and wrapped in a John Baizley cover: Serpents Unleashed is Skeletonwitch with nothing extra added. The band’s mix of thrash speed and black metal melody has never sounded this lean. The title track and “Beneath Dead Leaves” go for the throat straight away, and the vocals have never sounded more vicious.
Ballou gives the guitars a dry, physical crunch that suits the material much better than the glossier sound of earlier records. “I Am of Death (Hell Has Arrived)” is the anthem, “Burned From Bone” the best riff, and the closing “More Cruel Than Weak” is the one song allowed to breathe past four minutes. If there’s a criticism, it is that a few tracks in the middle are interchangeable. At this length, that hardly matters.
Best tracks:
Serpents Unleashed
I Am of Death (Hell Has Arrived)
Burned From Bone
More Cruel Than Weak
Author’s rating: 8.1/10
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