From their record label’s webpage, “Initially intended as a one-man-band by Naga S. Maelström in 2014 after writing the debut album “Souverain” and eventually transformed in a live band. After the live debut on 2017 and the good reception, the band tours Spain initially and later, part of Europe joining forces with MARDUK. At present, they are ready to unveil its newest album “The Serpent Abomination” and already confirmed its first tour in Mexico in 2024 and about to announce its first tour in the United Kingdom.”

The title track leads things off. Bells announce the song, which enters with an aggressive and contentious sound. There is also a lot going on in the background, and the song is substantially thick and overgrown with vocal shrieks and gutturals. “Blackfire Liturgy” features another strong backbone of Black Metal with elements so harrowing, you feel like you have been caught up in a summoning ritual. “Almighty Furia” kicks in low and slow, like a diesel engine kicking over in the frigid cold. Once it gets going, the sound is powerful and commanding. “By Venomous Grace” has deeply dissonant tones to go along with the frightening elements, and the songwriting so far is careful and considerate.

“Omnipresence and Gravitation” is a beastly 12 minutes in length and gives plenty of time for that deep and expansive sound to develop. For me, it’s like looking into the black fog of morning and seeing monstrous shapes staring back at you. There is a long pause before the half-way mark, and the sound settles in and takes hold. “Reign of Scars” sounds like it comes deep from the lower plains of hell, and this time, a depression sets in with equal peaks of rage and anger. “The Fading Light” closes the album, and it swings in the opposite direction, with clean guitar strums and even clean vocals. It shows the versatility of the band in many ways.

Overall, this was a fantastic album. It had all the hardened and contentious elements that you would expect from the genre, but also a deep connection in songwriting, and some complex arrangements that were also easily accessible to the listeners. Most of the ride was quite harrowing, and if you were to climb back in, you may never return to the world of the living.