Serpent's Embrace

Agathodaimon | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 24, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nuclear Blast Americ
• ASIN: B000269S6Y
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #260,338 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome album..................lucky random pick, January 15, 2006

By 

Switchblade Metalman (California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Serpent's Embrace (Audio CD)

Frank Nordmann - Vocals, Guitars
Sathonys - Clean vocals, guitars
Eddie Smith - Bass, Clean Vocals
Felix Walzer - Keyboards
Matthias Rodig - Drums

Agathodaimon is one of my new found most favorite Symphonic Black metal bands of 2005. I picked them up after listening to a couple of music samples, and thank God I did. The music is beautiful, and the orchestral layering in the background makes it all the more atmospheric. "Cellos for the Insatiable" is one of the best intro songs to an album that I've ever heard in my metal career, it's amazing. The clean vocals by Sathonys on "Light Reborn" and "Serpent's Embrace" were mesmerizing, and I was headbanging like I was at their concert in no time. The song "Solitude" also guest features a female vocalist, thus making the song the ballad part of the cd.

The guitarists and drummers aren't epic instrumentalists such as Yngwie Malmsteen or Nicholas Barker(ex Dimmu Borgir drummer), but their presence is made known with their melodious contributions to the songs.

One thing I did not like is the previewing of the "Serpent's Embrace" video and the behind the scenes......that one thing threw off the whole headbanging momentum that I had. The video screen it gives you is about 4x4 inches, and the production is horrible. I'm not going to dock a star for that, since the music provided cancelled out any other horrible things that could have happened on this cd.

For friends of Black/Symphonic Black Metal this is a must have. Pure melodic music throughout the cd, just like I ordered........ Favorite songs "Serpent's Embrace", "Light Reborn", and "Limbs of a Stare".

John

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Agathodaimon's best, August 22, 2005

By 

kinslayer09 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Serpent's Embrace (Audio CD)

This is without question Agathodaimon's best release to date. They have REALLY evoloved since their debut release Blacken the Angel. This is not to knock any of their previous releases. They were all quite good. But they really hit the spot with Serpent's Embrace. The title track is amazing, and does an incredible job of balancing the clean and regular black metal vocals. Then in the middle of the album comes the almost comically passive song Solitude. It has beautiful vocals and simple yet extremely effective acoustic piano. As far as I know, they have never had exactly the same lineup 2 albums in a row, and the lineup they used for Serpent's Embrace is by far the best they have ever put together.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Agathodaimon - Serpent's Embrace, August 16, 2005

By 

Richard Terry (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Serpent's Embrace (Audio CD)

For those of you who are new to German black metal sensation, Agathodaimon, you truly do need to check out this band. The first album that I heard was Chapter III. This one sounds different from Chapter III, but Agathodaimon are moving in a different direction. Their older albums were entirely black metal, but The Serpent's Embrace does not have a lot of those elements. Lead vocalist Vlad has incorperated black metal vocals, and guitarist Hyperion has mastered his shredding skills along with a little bit of some melodic playing.

The Serpent's Embrace opens with a killer song titled Cellos for the Insatiable. The vocals here define the album and the mood is set for the remaining 9 songs. Light Reborn is one of my favorite songs. There is a great melodic part halfway through followed by a brutal shriek that will get the listener headbanging. Faded Years is a softer song done entirely with female vocals. The album closer, Feelings, is another highlight to this 5-star album. I had this in the top 5 metal releases of 2004 including Finntroll's Nattfodd, Orphaned Land's Mabool, Into Eternity's Buried in Oblivion, and Wintersun's self-titled debut. Please support this band. They truly are amazing. Also check out Chapter III and Blacken the Angel to hear the roots of this band. \M/