Customer Reviews

Serpents of the Light

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

This new album isn't as good as the classic Once Upon The Cross, but it's not at all bad either. Some aspects might put people off though: the production (which hasn't changed much) is not extremely powerful, which belies the fury of the music; also there are some riffs and passages which are similar to the other albums, which in a way is not really a bad thing.

Let's just say, if you were expecting something new and fresh from Glen and the boys, you'll be disappointed :) But, anyway what we have here is nevertheless a solid Deicide album. It's on the whole faster than "...Cross" and there ARE some standout tracks (after a few listens) including "Bastard of Christ" and "This is Hell We're In" which have some incredibly catchy death-groove and death-crawl passages respectively, with Glen Benton's guttural growl taking it over the top! Excellent.

Recommended to death metal enthusiasts... there's some great material on here... it just might take a few listens (if that!) to realise it

Bringing a different perspective on the events that have supposedly transpired almost two thousand years ago, Benton and his colleagues offer a feast to the soul of those who listen - that is, presuming that the aforementioned soul is not too heavily involved with heaven and thus can not see past the initial so-called blasphemous lyrics that attract the attention of not only death metal fans, but those who are also existentialists, tho by no means the two are mutually exclusive; having said this, I recommend Deicide to those Men (and women) who are capable of seeing past appearances (such as the inverted cross on Benton's face) and truly enjoy the music and sacrifice Benton offers by extending the limits of his vocal cords to provide the utmost experience to his audience with his best performance here in Serpents of the Light where this time he uses subtle symbolism and allergories to enrich his touch- and the rest of you, you can go to church and listen to your gospels! .

It was around 1997 that Deicide began to grow very unhappy with their record label (Roadrunner), so they began unabashedly rushing-out albums just to get out of their record contract. As such, when listening to Deicide's next full-length release under Roadrunner, `97's "Serpents of the Light," and the next two after that (2000's "Insineratehymn" and 2001's "In Torment In Hell"), one can't help but get the feeling that the band was "coasting" and sounded a little uninspired.

Regardless, "Serpents of the Light" is still a good album. The guitar work of Brian and Eric Hoffman may not be as technical as it was on, say, 1992's sophomoric "Legion," but the duo is still in fine form here. They unleash a flood of crunching, grinding, smoke-inducing, streamlined chainsaw leads which are so dizzingly fast that the listener is usually unable to discern any individual "riffs." They are also perfectly in sync with each other. Couple this with Steve Asheim's equally-as-fast, impeccable, walloping, metronome-perfect drumming, and frontman Glenn Benton's infamously devilish vocals and blasphemous lyrics, and "Serpents" encompasses all of Deicide's world-renowned musical hallmarks.

And there are a few surprises to be heard here, as well. For one, the Hoffman brothers' solos are a lot more ripping and melodic than you probably ever thought possible. Next, Glenn's vocals, while as guttural as ever, are actually very intelligible most of the time! Lastly, and most notably, this is easily the catchiest album in Deicide's discography to date. These are some of the hookiest and most memorable choruses in the history of death metal (and that's not an understatement!). Of course, you might not actually WANT to remember most of the lyrics (i.e. "Cease to exist/choking the life out of you with my bare hands"), but they'll still get glued to your brain whether you want them to or not. And chances are you'll catch yourself humming them even after they're done playing.

Deicide keep the gas pedal floored throughout the disc's thirty-minute running time; these ten tracks are furious and urgent almost to the point of a heart attack. Highlights include the opening blast of the title track, the classic "Blame it on God" (which is also a staple of the band's live show), the jackhammering blast beats, ascending and descending guitar solo, and catchy vocal patterns in "This Is Hell We're In," the awesome, instantly memorable, and superbly wicked shrieking chorus of "Slave to the Cross,"the slightly slower tempo and especially fat, chunky, chugging riffs that back "Believe the Lie," and the series of ripping solos that crop up throughout the closer, "Father's Baker."

In sum, "SOTL" may not be up to par with the greatness of previous Deicide efforts, there is still a lot to enjoy here, so all fans should definitely want to pick it up. After all, it's Deicide...what else do you need to know?!

After "Once Upon the Cross" Deicide seemed to have gone back to basics. Gone is the relentless speed of past albums, replaced with a more refined approach to songwriting. The speed is still plenty there though, at least as much as the debut.
Serpents of the Light also features something brand new to Deicide at the time, MELODY! The vocals are debatedly better than the previous release, and the lyrics much more serious (though still on the subject of organized religion and Christianity. The music on this album sometimes approaches a, sort of, black metal style of some of the riffing, and some of the melody nearly points the way to what was beginning to brew in Sweden at the time. Case in Point: "Blame it on God". Blame it on God is my favorite song from here, with a awesome melodic riff and refrain that almost reminds me of Star Wars (the dark empire march type music that is). The diminshed riffs and solos on the song definitely take Deicide up to a level that is further explored on their newest release, Scars of the Crucifix. This is slowly becoming my second favorite Deicide album (or maybe third, Legion is still killer) and I didn't expect anything past the first two to be worth anything. Goes to show one must always give things a try for themselves and not listen to others criticisms, oh well. The secret weapon of the album is obviously the blossoming talents of the Hoffman brothers. Brian in paticular had started to get better and better at soloing, and on this album it starts to show. Lessons (including classical) were received, and it only made Deicide's music more DELICIOUSLY EVIL!

An underrated, killer release that points to a career that couldve been, instead of the unfortunate predicaments that the band found themselves in later (along with undeserved public scorn not at all reflected in album sales (a hint of jealousy perhaps?) )

Not only is this album extremely anti-god,it is a fine piece of
work.There are plenty of great guitar solos and growling vocals
which seem to fit the mood perfectly.In my opinion the best tracks on this album are Serpents of the Light and Slave to the
Cross.So sit back,grab an upside down cross,and let the fun
begin.

Deicide's fourth album "Serpents Of The Light" was confusing for a lot of fans, in my opinion mainly because of the album's production. It wasn't polished as far as guitar and drum tones went, but overall this album is 100% Deicide; putrefaction and annihilation. Guitarists Brian and Eric Hoffman rip out plenty of guitar solos on here, Steve Asheim's punishing drumming echoes throughout the heaviness, and Glen Benton's deep monster-like growls and bass roar like a beast awaken from a slumber. Best songs are "Blame It On God", "Slave To The Cross", "This Is Hell We're In", "Father Bakers", and "Serpents Of The Light".
Another great death metal release from one of death metal's all time greats. Buy it now!!

let me start by saying that deicide is my FAVORITE death metal band...
with that said, let me tell you about this cd
if you have listened to deicide before, you know what to expect from one of thier cds...and you know what kind of quality the music is...this cd is different than others in that respect
the quality of this cd is much different than the rest of decide's masterpeices, which seems to be its only flaw...when listened to side by side a song from another album, the quality sounds much less powerful
but if youre just listening to this cd, it grows on you and you barely notice
im sure many of you are familiar with the horrible quality that is a black metal album...let me assure you that the quality of this cd is much much much better than that, just less powerful compared to deicde's other cd's

on to the cd itself
every song is a good one, and all tracks stand out as their own being
thats why i love deicide
if you want a good album to start with from deicide, i suggest either scars of the crucifix, or their greatest hits...they will give you a good taste of what deicide is...
if you have already listened to them, then i sugest this album

quite a masterpeice it is
anways, thanks for listening to me rant

HAIL SATAN!!
--_k_e_n_--

This is another favorite album in my Deicide collection. I bought this in the fall of 1997. I was already was a Deicide fan because I already had all their albums from the self titled album to Once Upon The Cross and I was already waiting for this one to come out. I had heard the song Believe The Lie on the Music Choice Metal Channel on my brother's Direct TV and I loved it. So soon after that, I brought the album at Best Buy and I took it home and listened to it. At first I was a little dissapointed. Also, there were parts of songs that I thought were defected, as in recording defect. So I exchained different copies of the album a couple of times until a clerk at the Best Buy exchange counter told me that the album is probaby recorded that way. So at the time, I got a new copy and never returned it after that. As for the dissapointment with the album itself, it wasn't that bad but I listened to the album more and got over it.

Now for my review. With this album, it's an entirely new direction for Deicide. Musically, the band still delivers like they always do. The music is still heavy, brutal, hellish, haunting and evil. There are still solos, killer riffs and blast beats. The lyrics however have changed a bit. The typical topics of Satanism, sacrifice, Dead But Dreaming, Dead By Dawn and the necronomicon are gone but not too far gone. The lyrics are more about the corruption, oppression and hypocrisy of Christianity. Plus, there's a song called This Is Hell We're In which is about Glen's deppression with this world and life itself and a desire to die. There's also a song called The Truth Above which is about the reality of alien lifeform destroying the truths and the beliefs advicated by Christianity. This album pretty much demonstrates what Deicide is all about musically and lyrically. Some of the best songs here are Serpent Of The Light, Bastards Of Christ, I Am No One, Believe The Life, The Truth Above and Father Baskers'. Buy this album or you will know what is suffering.

This is a good follow up to once upon the cross and maybe the bands last great album.Some very nice and fast guitar work with some songs being very catchy.Glens vocals are very good and clean enough to really understand what hes saying.Over all,a great album worth owning if you are a fan of this legendary band.LONG LIVE DEATH METAL!!!

This is my personal favourete. It has different guitar tones from all the other albums, which make the album sound better and brutal. And yes, if you ask me, this is the most brutal album to date. This is a must get!