Search - Impending Doom :: The Serpent Servant

Amazing Death Metal

Zachary Desroches | 04/01/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Impending Doom completely floored me with this release. I had heard the singles "Serpent Servant" and "anything Goes" a while back and was so excited for this release. In my opinion it's a massive improvement from Nailed. Dead. Risen., but don't get me wrong, I love that album too, but this album, although still as brutal as it gets, is now audible too. They've kind of developed a WhiteChapel-esque sound, but they actually have a positive message in their songs. A must have for Deathcore/ Brutal Death Metal fans."

Massive improvement, if a bit misguided

Alex C. Trambley | 05/12/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Impending Doom is one of the most interesting death metal/deathcore/metalcore bands in the industry today. They're devout Christians, as can be seen through their lyrics, imagery, and testimonials, a fact that is almost non-existent in the genre of music that they play in (at least when speaking on a broad scale of popularity). Death metal, or the genres that fall beneath it are generally not known for Christian themes or bands, but somehow Impending Doom has risen to popularity despite these trends.



That being said, let's get to the album. Their first album, Nailed. Dead. Risen., was an interesting release to say the least, certainly not putting off a sound to appeal to the masses. Yet, with this rough and unpolished release they garnered broad attention from Christians and death metal fans alike with their brutal sound and unapologetic lyrics. I first found them right after they had released Nailed. Dead. Risen., and was not initially fond of the sound to be completely honest. But alas, the sound grew on me, and I eventually fell in love with the band, leading me to go to two of their live shows and speak with some of the band members personally. They are wonderful people, and strong Christians, and I was overjoyed at these facts. So needless to say, this new album was certainly one of my most anticipated albums in a long time.



The new album has a MUCH more refined sound, quality, and cohesiveness, but with these steps forward come a few steps back. I love metal, death metal, hardcore, and much more, and anyone who knows these genres, more likely than not, has a love for breakdowns to some extent. What I'm getting at is that Impending Doom has gone the way of popularity here and gotten a bit breakdown happy. I believe that only 3 of the 11 songs do not have breakdowns in them, and while the breakdowns themselves do not all have the same design, they are a bit generic. I have no problem with something being like everything else as long as it does everything better, but in this instance, it's a bit too much.



That being said, I have to gripe on the vocals a bit. While the vocals are MUCH more audible and clean, they do tend to become monotonous and uninspired after 30 minutes of music. I understand if a vocalist doesn't have any other ranges or variations, but that's not the case with this vocalist (Brook Reeves). From the first album, we know that Brook has extremely low vocals and "pig squeals" of sorts, and while often unintelligible, sound completely awesome. If they would have just found a happy medium with a mix of old, and new vocals, this album probably could have gotten a 5 out of 5 from me, despite the problems with the over usage of breakdowns. I can just hope that the next album will include ALL of their talents, and not just some of them.



Lyrically, the songs are great, with amazing imagery and symbolism, so there are no problems here. The metaphorical symbolism and Christian themes are once again strong and powerful in this release, and as always, welcome for a band in this genre. Like I said, no problems whatsoever.



And another thing that I have to mention is the fact that the album seems a bit slow in comparison to Nailed. Dead. Risen., something I found to be a bit odd when looking at the genre in which the bands falls. Speed is evident in the songs "Storming The Gates of Hell" and "The Serpent Servant", but it seems that speed is a bit underutilized on the rest of the album. Maybe I'm wrong, but the sense of chaos just isn't as present in this album...



Overall, the album shows growth within the band, but also illuminates some flaws. There is nothing wrong with sounding like other things, like I said, as long as you can make your sound better than everyone else. Impending Doom certainly has their own sound which differentiates them from everyone else within the industry, but with this album they're taking two steps forward, and one step back. It's almost like they're trying to appeal to a broader crowd while sacrificing a bit of their own unique appeal. I'm certainly going to continue to watch the band and enjoy them wholeheartedly, but also continue to hope that their next album will show growth in a positive direction without compromising anything at all.



If you love heavy music, breakdowns, death metal, or pretty much anything that makes you proud to be a Christian, pick the album up and support a great group of guys trying to shine for Christ in a very dark industry."

Grows On You, Give It A Chance

Brandon Alakozai | California | 05/04/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Plain and simple, it really does grow on you. After my first and second listen, I agreed with the other reviewers about it being boring. But today I went through my 3 recently purchased CDs, this being one of them, and I liked it a lot more the third time. Its a very different sound from Nailed. Dead. Risen. They DID drop some of my favorite things about this genre, and I think it isn't very safe to call this one Deathcore. But that doesn't mean its terrible. I agree that it is a little generic, but I think its a very solid album. If you give it a chance, you might come back to it."