ALBUM REVIEW: The Divine And The Serpentine – Shrike
If you’re in search of some world-shaking melodic death metal, SHRIKE have answered the call. The Preston three piece have wielded in one hand Divine, and in the other, Serpentine. These two EP releases have been amassed together to one chronicle by the name of The Divine And The Serpentine. Its quite the tale, so settle in.
The tapestry of SHRIKE’s story starts as majestic and operatic with Divine. It’s a beautiful, suspenseful piece that feels as like the grandiose start to this epic odyssey. The tide turns to tumult as the symphony turns sharp and experimental in Ebb And Flow (This Will Never End), feeling inspired by a duality of both modern and old school death metal. There’s a super array of vocal talent right up front on this record from, while also bringing some serious technical game on the guitar and a deliciously fluid set of ideas on the drums.
The great episodes are broken with some pensive interludes in the way of acoustic CXVIII, which is good in its own right, but mostly serves as a slight pallet cleanser for the rest of the feat ahead. An Infinite Debt punches right into the death metal guts of SHRIKE’s sound, cut through with super melodic choruses.
The opal in the centre of the record The Sinner In Saints Regalia at seven minutes, it doesn’t feel too bloated; there’s so much life and energy that is flies by. Super tastefully done, this epic shifts from brooding, deeply groove driven riffing to immaculate soloing and a reprise of the intro track to really solidify the overarching theme.
In fairness, the entire record has a deliberate and tastefully approach. It could be very easy to over do this record, especially given the fact this has been styled as both two EPs and as one whole body of work. But each song does have purpose and drive that is genuinely compelling to listen to.
Mid break point Divine Pt.II is a lovely little moment, with its ‘turn the cassette tape over’ style start, a reverse rewinding feeling creepy and cinematic, dripping and quiet. The overall vibe going into this second half immediately feels like doing into a shadow realm of the first, lighter half. Serpentine has some super tasty proggy moments, it builds and grows as the theme of mob mentality is explored ever further.
Many of the tracks take a super balance between the old school death metal approach and some super fresh contemporary ideas, in songs like The Riverbank and Plagues Confide Through Masquerade. The appreciation SHRIKE clearly have for where they want their music to draw from is super strong throughout this record, but this tail end of the record, with it’s more aggressive bite, is even more focused. and Plagues Confide Through Masquerade especially is a must listen track, truly displaying everything SHRIKE have to offer.
On saying that, O Father Time might potentially be the magnum opus of the record. It has a monstrous scope and simply does not let up in the near nine minutes of play time. It’s the most dramatic, chewing the scene sort of track, and honestly is so juicy for being so, that it’s so worth the time to really sit and listen through it. Not to let up, the ferocious In Pursuit Of The Witch has as much bite and bile as any other of the vast tracks on this record. It’s ending is so dense and tactile, that its abrupt end feels honestly like something has just lifts off you as you’ve delightfully been succumbing to the pure will of the music. Just brilliant.
The final track, a cover of QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE‘s No One Knows, is a good reimagining of the stoner rock anthem, but does feel a little tacked on at the end. While it doesn’t sit especially well in the overall balance of the original material before it, and takes a little of the impact of the previous song away, it’s a pretty decent jaunt that will put a smile on the faces of those who enjoy the novelty of genre bending covers.
SHRIKE have really set a bar for debut records coming out this year, The Divine And The Serpentine is a melodic death metal dream. The trio have crafted a bold and multifaceted set of songs that feel fully fledged and beautifully produced in an epic odyssey that shows huge promise for the future of metal.
Rating: 9/10
The Divine and The Serpentine is set for release on February 21st via self-release.
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