Belgium über doom band SERPENTCULT has completed work on its debut album. The monstrously heavy Weight of Light will drop in North America on January 27, 2009 via Rise Above Records.
A four piece from Ghent, Oost-Vlaanderen, SERPENTCULT delivers punishing, down tuned music that transcends beyond standard Doom fare into a maze of monolithic, molten metal. SERPENTCULT’s massive sound, a self-described “neck-breaking, down tuned riffing apocalypse,†has drawn parallels to Celtic Frost, Cathedral and Electric Wizard and met with much critical acclaim within the underground metal community since the band’s formation in 2006.
Recorded at Priory Studios in Birmingham, England with Producer Greg Chandler (of UK doom act Esoteric) and mixed by Billy Anderson (Sleep, Neurosis, Melvins) at his Oakland home studios, Weight of Light is a dark, thundering storm of sound. SERPENTCULT’s unorthodox, gnarled guitar work and Cliff Burton-inspired wah-wah bass flow throughout the album like a never-ending stream of lead weight ploughing its way across sodden landscapes to create elephantine grooves that back the “air raid siren vocals†of Michelle Nocon (which have inspired comparisons to Geddy Lee, Messiah Marcolin and Bruce Dickinson). The combination of savage material and the heavyweight pedigree of the production team has resulted in the creation of one the absolute heaviest metal albums you are likely to hear.
The track listing for Weight of Light is as follows:
1.) New World Order
2.) Screams From the Deep
3.) Weight of Light
4.) Awaken the Kraken
5.) Arkanum
6.) Red Dawn
7.) Templar
8.) Serpentcult
A advance listen to what Weight of Light holds in store can be heard now as the SERPENTCULT tracks “New World Orderâ€, “Weight of Light†and “Red Dawn†have been posted online at this location. Check out the album’s faraway cover art here.
In addition to Nocon, SERPENTCULT features Frederic Caure (guitars), Steven Van Cauwenbergh (bass) and Frederik “Cozy†Cosemans (drums).
SERPENTCULT is available to speak with interested media now. To chat with the band, request a review copy of Weight of Light, simply contact ACTION! PR via any of the means listed below. Updated SERPENTCULT news and tour information will be made available via the SERPENTCULT web domain: www.serpentcult.be, the Rise Above Records website: www.riseaboverecords.com and the ACTION! PR website: www.action-pr.com.
“thundering…the album as a whole is consistently harsh and unforgiving, the production of Esoteric’s Greg Chandler and the mix courtesy of doom doyen Billy Anderson slicing through the atmosphere like a rusty scalpel…some seriously heavy shit†– DECIBEL
“upping doom metal’s complexity factor and unorthodoxy quotient, accelerating tempos and essentially shaking the genre from the popularity of doldrums drone. SerpentCult have offered up a new school of energy, breathing new life into Sunn O))) amps spitting out molasses-thick, bent string riffs.†– ROCK SOUND
“Powerful, varied. Something wickedly fresh and something trustedly bonafide in every track. Go on and enjoy.†– STONERROCK
“Dark and grim†very much characterizes the band’s sound, which is rife with low frequency churners and mid-paced crushers. Space Lord, motherf*cker” – METAL MANIACS