The early formula used by Death Metal acts between 1985 (when CELTIC FROST came with "To Mega Therion" and POSSESSED unleashed "Seven Churches") and 1995, heard releases as "Leprosy", "Altars of Madness", "Slowly We Rot", "Left Hand Path", "Like an Everflowing Stream", "Where No Life Dwells", "Legion", "Severed Survival", "War Master", "Subconscious Terror", "Gothic", "Serenades" and many others influences a lot of new acts, because the blend between Thrash Metal, Heavy Metal, Punk Rock/Hardcore and others had hooks that are hard to find today. Younger tendencies stomped flat the genre and 'purified' it of its early influences. But such hooks can be found on "Blood Sabbath", the first album of the Canadian quartet SERPENT CORPSE. Their musical work is based on the same Old School Death Metal formula of the past, when all the early influences of the genre were clear to hear: nasty and crude guitar riffs entangled with sickening solos, grunts supported by a massive weight created by bass guitar and drums, with a simple technical approach and with emphasis on slower paced tempos (without becoming a Doom Death Metal act).

It's obvious that the quartet must sharp their efforts a bit more to be in the same level of some acts as SKELETAL REMAINS and others, but the album shows a band that's on the right path. Recorded and mixed in over the summer of 2022 by Patrick McDowall at Black Gate Studio, and Mastered by James Plotkin, the sonority of "Blood Sabbath" is putrid, raw and nasty as an Old School Death Metal requires, but better adjustments on the tunes and overall sonority would be acceptable. It's not bad, it's distorted and aggressive beyond the needed, so it could be better.

The work of the quartet shown on the 8 tracks of "Blood Sabbath" ("Spell of the Eternal Serpent" is just an intro) is naïve at a certain point (what justify the need for maturing, because the band relies too much on the formula and not on the musicians' own instincts), but their value is clear on songs as "Electric Eye" (a brutal and crude song based on nasty and distorted guitar riffs laid on a slow set of tempos), "Nemesis" (this one is filled with a simple, but yet strong and good technical work on bass guitar and drums), "Land of Rot and Misfortune" (oppressive and nasty, this one shows very good hooks, indeed), "Swallowed Whole by the Abyss" (another oppressive song filled with good hooks, and nasty grunts, and some Punk Rock/Hardcore influences can be heard on it), and "Blood Sabbath". The band is good, the songs as well, but a better development during the writing on the songs will help them.

SERPENT CORPSE is a good name, "Blood Sabbath" isn't a bad release, but some evolution is required next time.