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SERCATI
The Rise Of The Nightstalker

Grom (2014)
Rating: 5.5/10

Belgian black metal has never really taken off, but Sercati, who hail from Liège, are certainly hoping to change that predicament. The Rise Of The Nightstalker is the band’s second offering and follow-up to their 2011 debut opus, Tales Of The Fallen. Sercati are fronted by bassist Steve “Serpent” Fabry, who is backed by guitarist Florian “Flocky” Hardy and drummer Yannick Martin.

After the rather corny narrated intro, ‘Remembrance’, we’re off into concept album territory, but where I had concerns that this would be a rather dissonant black metal affair I needn’t have worried – although I have other concerns.

Sercati are an interesting black metal band featuring dry, rasping vocals, but more importantly some peculiar, almost folk-based melodies which are immediately apparent on ‘No More Fear’. Sadly, despite a compact drum dash and communicable melody there is an air of blandness about this track, although these guys are one of the more accessible black metal acts you’ll hear. Even so, despite the gallop of the track, it only breaks from the plod just past the halfway point when the sound has a sinister feel that soon rushes back to that dry natured yet basic sprint to the end. ‘No More Fear’ pretty much sums up the band in that while Sercati are intent on variation, they lack punch.

‘The Hero We Don’t Deserve’ displays some nice subtle touches, but the vocals really do sit uncomfortably alongside the breezy acoustic and tame bass dribble. When the track takes on a sprawling, majestic form the vocals work a touch better, but in spite of these varying shades, again I’m expecting a bigger kick. ‘Hound From Hell’ attempts to provide this with its jabbing drum and mid-tempo melody driven by an almost pop-laden riff and melancholic piano, but by this point I’m actually a tad bored of Fabry’s throaty yelp which seems lost behind the far more accomplished instrumentation which would have benefited more from a punchier throat.

And this is the main fault throughout, because when a track does become a full on black metal assault Fabry’s vocals sound better, but each time the instruments sway into an invigorating and more experimental slant the dry yaps do not work. This is a real shame because there are times on this album where Sercati touch on the original, bringing some unusual melodies which do take a little while to get used to, but when it works (‘I Failed’) it’s half-decent, but when it doesn’t (‘Face To Face’) there is a real peculiar yet intriguing marrying of black metal and more jovial segments and influences which don’t always compliment one another.

The Rise Of The Nightstalker is at times an uncomfortable knees-up of styles that try to incorporate black metal extremity but is bereft of fire and technique to pull it off. While I admire bands for thinking outside of the box, Sercati have simply left me with splinters after being perched on the edge of it.

Neil Arnold

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