Customer Reviews

Serpent's Embrace

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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

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.

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/

Been a fan of these guys since Blacken the Angel. They have a made a transition from traditional Black Metal to a cross between Sypmhonic Black Metal and Gothenburg. I would classify them as a heavy Gothic band now. The riffs and drumming are good. They are using more and more synth. this time out. The vocals are good also. The growling vox are done in a Black Metal vein. While Sathonys, the guitar player, is doing all the clean vox now. Before they would have session vocalists come in and do them. He does do a good job. The title track is very catchy and sets the tone for the rest of the album. All in all a good effort, I only hope they don't wait so long before the next release. If you like this album be sure to check out Chapter III and if you are a Black Metal fan get their debut Blacken the Angel.

I had no idea that I was missing out on such a great band. This was defintly the pleasent suprise of the year for me. This band blends black metal with melodic death and experimental to form a truly engaging genre all their own. This is a super talented band, everything is played wonderfully, and the songs are very very well written and catchy. If you like metal buy this, you wont be disapointed.

Agathodaimon's debut album was well received back in the late 90s and showcased the band's ability to write gothic symphonic black metal. Unfortunately, they failed to live up to this original promise, with their next two albums being mediocre releases. The main problem they have faced over the years is the complete lack of distinction and originality in their work, especially in the saturated genre that they are positioned.

This being said, I didn't really have high expectations for "Serpent's Embrace". But the band has obviously made a conscious decision to do something a little bit different while remaining completely true to their roots. This latest release is a hybrid beast containing many different genres of metal all mixed in to create some truly great material. Here can be found some melodic death metal along with the black metal their albums have always contained. Throw into the mix a superb ballad with female vocals, an almost dark-wave sensibility to a couple of tracks and more than anything else, thrash metal! Chuck all these ingredients into a pot, mix in three differing vocal attacks, and "Serpent's Embrace" is formed.

Just as on "Chapter III", "Serpent's Embrace" plays its best card first, with "Cellos for the Insatiable" being a fantastic opener that reminds me of "And Oceans" at their best. The use of keyboards in this song and throughout the album is quite good, never overpowering the rest of the music and simply adding substance and depth. "Light Reborn" is another corker, its thrashy riffs hitting the listener right from the outset, and a chorus section that won't be leaving your head for the rest of the day. The ballad "Solitude" (track 5) came as a complete surprise to me and to be honest, doesn't really belong on this album. It happens to be a really successful attempt at an "Antimatter" style piece of work though, so I'm not going to complain too much (although I'm sure others will).

So with all this praise, why can't I give this album a high rating and why has it been relegated as a disappointment by the critics of metal? I think the answer is the second half of the album. The quality drops a bit for the last 4 songs, not giving the listener very much to hang on to. My attention tends to drift as Agathodaimon go through the motions, winding up the album with a lack of inspiration. This is a shame since the first half showed some real promise. Nonetheless, it's the first time since "Blacken the Angel" that I've looked forward to Agathodaimon's next album.

I'll keep it simple:
Great Dark Melodic Metal.
While not quite as stunning as their latest "Phoenix..." album, this is a great listen and worth your time.
The only thing I could not get over was the discs extra's. (Horrid Wall Papers and such...)
This Album came out around a time when European Black/Death Metal bands thought it was cool to play in a room full of rainbow colored lights and strippers (a-la atrocity's "Taste of Sin" video - which by the way has my vote for most Hilarious metal video around... Metal space pirates in a strip club LOL)

Like the other reviewer said, this mixes several styles...black, death, thrash, gothic...everything's been done before - so what separates bands nowadays? songwriting...and this cd has it. Even the usually overly-used female vocals are done really well. I shelled out my money for this one to support the band, you should too. you won't regret it.

I've just recently discovered Agathodaimon, and I am amazed by the band already. A full-on assault, blending black, death, gothic, and symphonic metal styles... Serpent's Embrace continues to impress me with its raw skill and avant-garde techniques.

Serpent's Embrace is definitely not your typical black metal album, but I think it will appeal to fans of more well-known extreme metal groups. Agathodaimon is one of the sickest bands I've heard in a while. I am thoroughly impressed.

This is where Agathodaimon hits rock bottom and I don't see any immediate comeback to the enchantment they had going with previous albums, as a matter of fact when you look back upon them, it all predicts itself rather clearly.

Here on Serpent's Embrace, the music comes to die and Agathodaimon whores itself out to commercialism and cheap commercial tactics, a direction that most bands are happy to embrace all in the vain vein of mediocrity.

If you find technoish influences irritating in Metal, by all means avoid this record. I can understand the type of people that would rate this abomination as a 5-start work but for the purist and passionate at heart, this is a joke of very bad taste. Specially when the band claims it to be Black Metal.

That statement alone should be enough for them to be put to sleep like sick animals!