RSS Feed


ODD EYED
Swords And Serpents

Self-released (2022)
Rating: 8/10

I didn’t know what to expect with this one, Odd Eyed being a Russian act with a debut album that looks a bit black / thrash, yet sounds crushing as a death / doom opus.

Swords And Serpents is the work of one mysterious man named Sigurd The Odd-Eyed, who has crafted an exceptional heavy weight record boasting nine tracks based upon old Russian songs of lore circa the 18th and 19th centuries.

That sense of the epic shines through as each track flows like black, slick rivers of doom mixed with gloomy, mid-80s traditional metal. Sigurd’s vocals, however, are very much centred in the death / doom realm, being deep, chesty grunts that translate as poetic transcriptions to accompany those deep, pallid chugs.

Opening track ‘The Son Of The Serpent’ pretty much sums up what you’re getting here. The guitar tone is killer, which at times harkens back to a Hellhammer sort of buzz yet with those weird, doomy aesthetics.

‘Too Heavy For The Earth’ morbidly unravels at crushingly slow pace. It’s got the vibe of some long forgotten mid-to-late 80s European doom metal gem you accidentally stumbled across, evoking images of stark, naked trees grasping at the walls of a crumbling, grey castle caressed by storm clouds to the soundtrack of crows, all the while a distant army trudges through the misty mire.

This is extremely atmospheric stuff. Just listen to the lo-fi nuances of ‘The Sword Of Svyatogor’, an immense cascading rumble providing a brisk dynamic amid the thick showers of ash. Meanwhile, ‘The River Of Blood’ nods with a sinister, sneaking suspenseful aspect, and ‘Stone Coffin’ lumbers in true traditional doom fashion with Sigurd expressing via mighty coughing commands to his own catchy yet melancholic wisps of gloom.

‘Serpenticide’ provides an unexpected break from the doom, racing reasonably fast as a death / thrash composition of hammering percussion and speeding axe work. And yet it still remains stark and morose.

Search anywhere within this vast landscape of ancient seething and you’ll find a myriad of sounds all encased within a doomy framework. The dissonant and eerie closer ‘Drevnij i Tyomnyj’ has a black metal starkness, while ‘Ancient And Blind’ trickles like some fireside folktale. It is encompassing stuff, a real journey through epic tales within vast, bleak lands rich in history.

Sigurd should be proud of what he’s achieved here – his ancestors most certainly would be.

Neil Arnold

<< Back to Album & EP Reviews



Related Posts via Categories
Share