hard rock / heavy metal
Snakes & Liars is an album by Swedish heavy metal group Nekromant, released in June 16. Only thirty six minutes long, the record has nine tracks: Stoned to Death, Doomed to Die, Funeral Worship, Black Velvet, Ashes & Rain, Inside Yourself, Mardröm, Never Saved, Snakes & Liars and Spelmannen. Obviously influenced by Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne – given the striking similarities in musical style and vocals –, despite the fact that traditional heavy metal is not one of my favorite genres, Snakes & Liars caught me by storm, revealing itself to be all the way through a surprisingly awesome, astoundingly decent and powerfully great album. With amazingly written guitar lines, a majorly conducted, but mostly ordained ferocity, an elevating respect for tradition – but never repetition – and the development of a mature, secure, genuine and singular style, Nekromant gives to its audience, with Snakes & Liars, a thoroughly overwhelming work of art. This album deserves all the compliments a contemporary heavy metal record could ever aspire to. Given the fact that the genre has mainly exhausted its possibilities, the gracious level of authenticity and creativity that Nekromant displays on this album is no minor achievement.
With soft guitars that can be constructively aggressive and inherently inhospitable at the same time, their style is not only profoundly cohesive and coherently consistent, but – easy to recognize – solidifies a reliant sonorous identity that ostensibly could characterizes them as, possibly, the major representatives of the genre in the underground scene for the years to come. With one song better than another, Snakes & Liars reveals itself to be a gracious collision of ideals, that masterly punctuates the genre as the sacred epitome of an infinite creativity that would never expire.
If one negative aspect can be pointed out, is the notion that their style sounds too similar to Black Sabbath for the greater part of the album, mainly the Ozzy Osbourne era, given the fact that the voice of the singer is practically identical to that of the heavy metal icon. Nevertheless, despite this feature, Nekromant is not merely a generic band. They have developed a great sound in formidable and vivaciously dynamic attributions, like no other band in the contemporary history of the genre. Although they do have their musical references, that are easily recognizable, their vivid musical creativity outstands every other qualities (or deficiencies) that a listener may find. With cohesive harmonies, honest and masterly designed melodies, delusional guitar solos and sensational abilities that enables them to be one of the best bands of the genre not only in their native Sweden, but certainly in the whole underground scene in general, Nekromant is a fabulous and decisive heavy metal group, that has everything to be a household name in the global scene.
Talent, they have too much. And as it would be expected with a band on this category, Snakes & Liars has revealed itself to be a very state of the art work. One that you shouldn’t dare not listening to. It would be the biggest heresy you could ever commit.
Wagner
With soft guitars that can be constructively aggressive and inherently inhospitable at the same time, their style is not only profoundly cohesive and coherently consistent, but – easy to recognize – solidifies a reliant sonorous identity that ostensibly could characterizes them as, possibly, the major representatives of the genre in the underground scene for the years to come. With one song better than another, Snakes & Liars reveals itself to be a gracious collision of ideals, that masterly punctuates the genre as the sacred epitome of an infinite creativity that would never expire.
If one negative aspect can be pointed out, is the notion that their style sounds too similar to Black Sabbath for the greater part of the album, mainly the Ozzy Osbourne era, given the fact that the voice of the singer is practically identical to that of the heavy metal icon. Nevertheless, despite this feature, Nekromant is not merely a generic band. They have developed a great sound in formidable and vivaciously dynamic attributions, like no other band in the contemporary history of the genre. Although they do have their musical references, that are easily recognizable, their vivid musical creativity outstands every other qualities (or deficiencies) that a listener may find. With cohesive harmonies, honest and masterly designed melodies, delusional guitar solos and sensational abilities that enables them to be one of the best bands of the genre not only in their native Sweden, but certainly in the whole underground scene in general, Nekromant is a fabulous and decisive heavy metal group, that has everything to be a household name in the global scene.
Talent, they have too much. And as it would be expected with a band on this category, Snakes & Liars has revealed itself to be a very state of the art work. One that you shouldn’t dare not listening to. It would be the biggest heresy you could ever commit.
Wagner
