This is the first release by the guys from Exeter. Devon isn't exactly the primal place of England that you think of when thinking of Metal. However, AMHERAWDR formed in Devon with the intention of writing heartfelt black metal music inspired by the bleak romance and mysticism of ancient Britain. A handful of songs known as The Hidden Valley sessions were composed that most likely will not see the light of day, but this creative period culminated in 2010 with the writing of 'Adorned with the Figures of Snakes', the definitive statement of that original potent intent. Recording of this song was almost completed the following year, but internal differences resulted in an amicable decline that left the band moribund. Winds change, seasons turn, dust gathers. Since then efforts have been made to bring to completion this sonic portrait of the heart of old Dumnonia and make it available for those who would listen.

"Adorned with the Figures of Snakes (Part I)" starts with a slow, ambient-filled intro, which is very much what I was expecting to hear. The song takes it time in introducing the full line up, its still slow paced, allowing us to follow the sound into hearing where it goes. The vocals are more mutterings than much else, but the tempo together works well. The song slows down once more, in most albums this would be the change of a song, maybe used as an intro. The next segment builds up once more, flirting with the idea of being heavier, keeping our interest levels high. Though it begins to slow down, again soon. The interest levels slipping away. Around the 10-minute mark, the vocals kick into life, finally. The aggression is good, but lasts less than 30-seconds, before the whole tempo slips away again. The band seem to be trying to have the part of the song heavier, but the pace is set to standard and that doesn't work as well as it should have.

"Adorned with the Figures of Snakes (Part II)" carries on from where the previous left off, so I think its just one long song, it slows tunes down into an instrumental section that is like a lot of the previous part. This song takes just under 3-miutes to spark any life into it, the raw vocals return, sludge fills the vocals. The instrumental aspect works well to continue the song, not really expanding it, but it keeps going. The aggressive vocals do return, along with a decent pace of tempo. Which builds the song up well for a few minutes. The instrumental section with the increase of tempo is decent, it is however, very similar to what we have already heard. The song closes out much better with the more frantic approach. Solid end.

This is basically one long song with about 6 - 8 different tracks inside that could have or should have been split into more tracks, that way they could have mixed things up a bit more. Its not a bad release at all, its just too long as 1 or 2 songs.