ALBUM REVIEW: Present Serpent – Moanhand

MOANHAND is the brainchild of Moscow-based multi-instrumentalist Roman Filatov. Working strictly as a one-man project, he’s released a couple of EPs and singles so far, and now makes his full-length debut with Present Serpent. It’s an ambitious record which draws from a wide range of genres by no means limited to metal alone. With six tracks spanning some 43 minutes, how does the project fare in this longer format?

As ever, Filatov handles everything on Present Serpent, playing or programming nearly all the instruments we hear on the record. It’s all solid, but if anything stands out in particular it’s his vocal performance. We get the first taste of this around a minute into opener Serpent Soul (A Tale Of Angels’ Slaughter), where he comes in with powerful soaring cleans. These add a sense of grandeur to the music, but they’re not all Filatov has up his sleeve. Later in the track, he erupts into harsh fry screams which wouldn’t sound out of place on a classic black metal record.

Filatov employs both these styles extensively throughout the album, with slightly more emphasis on the clean vocals overall. That proves to be a good call, as it’s these which are the stronger of the two. For example, it’s the cleans on third track Nightwings which elevate it to a firm overall highlight. This is a grand, emotional offering with a particularly powerful chorus. The same is even more true of fifth track Raw Blessings. Here, the vocals draw comparisons to the floating ethereality of Maynard James Keenan’s work in A PERFECT CIRCLE, while the music evokes the meditative, melancholic doom of a band like PALLBEARER. Filatov‘s harsh vocals aren’t weak either. On the contrary, these, which also occasionally take the form of more guttural stylings, play a welcome supporting role, adding menace and ferocity where needed.

Behind the vocals, the music on Present Serpent tends to take the form of slow and weighty doom metal. Most of the record maintains a steady, headbanging pace, with Filatov clearly happy to take his time with his riffs. The drums are crisp and hard-hitting, while the bass adds a sludgy low-end to proceedings. On top of this, Filatov provides multiple massive and thoughtful guitar solos, with stand-outs on second track The Charmthrower and the aforementioned Nightwings. 

It’s important to acknowledge that Filatov claims Present Serpent is “not just a doom, sludge or stoner album.” That seems fair. For example, fourth track Endless Embrace takes a turn for the Eastern around the four minute mark, with darbuka drums and acoustic guitars backing a menacing guitar solo. There are also regular hints of death and black metal on the record which go beyond Filatov’s harsh vocals. Perhaps the most obvious example of this comes in the album’s crushing closer The Boomerang Of Serpents. This track boasts a real black metal frostiness, and even kicks into rapid blast beats at one point. It’s also brought to a close with a powerful symphony – one of the only things on this record that’s handled by someone other than Filatov and instead provided by Anton Bulle.

Another thing Filatov allowed himself to receive some help with on Present Serpent is the production. This, handled by Igor Butz (mixing) and Collin Jordan (mastering), is pretty much flawless. For a sludgy, doomy record, nothing is too muddy or unclear. Instead, everything sounds absolutely massive, with all the instruments slotting comfortably into their rightful places.

The main criticism of Present Serpent is that it probably stays in one lane a little too much. Granted, there’s a bit more than doom in the mix, but most of the songs do sound quite similar. All but one of the tracks top six minutes in length (the sole exception Nightwings clocking in at 5:56 itself). They’re also all pretty similarly paced, rarely departing from a steady, slow-moving groove. As a result, listeners may start to lose interest as the album goes on – something Filatov could surely remedy with the odd burst of energy or perhaps a few more dynamic peaks and troughs.

Ultimately though, Present Serpent is a solid debut full-length. Filatov clearly knows his craft, and shows a great deal of potential here. The fact that all this is the work of one individual is even more impressive. It may not be the best or most varied doom record you’ll ever hear, but it certainly marks MOANHAND out as one to watch in the years to come.

Rating: 7/10

Present Serpent is set for release on June 18th via Burning Shine.

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