Serpent Ascending are a solo project from Finland that plays a very melodic and progressive mixture of black and death metal and this is a review of his 2022 album "Hyperborean Folklore" which will be released on June 17th by I, Voidhanger Records.
A very dark yet heavy sound starts off the album along with some spoken word parts a few seconds later. All of the tracks are also very long and epic in length while all of the musical instruments on the recording also have a very powerful sound to them and some tracks also add in a small amount of acoustic guitars.
At times the music also gets very progressive sounding while the riffs also add in a great amount of melody. Vocals are a mixture of death metal growls and black metal screams along with the solos and leads also being done in a very melodic style and clear vocals can also b e heard in certain sections of the recording.
Most of the music is also very heavily rooted in the 90's era along with the tracks also adding in some hypnotic, melancholic and psychedelic touches at times as well as some blast beats and tremolo picking also being utilized briefly when one of the songs speeds up. The production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover esoteric, occult, Hyperborean, Norse and Finnish folklore and mythology themes.
In my opinion Serpent Ascending are a very great sounding melodic and progressive mixture of black and death metal and if you are a fan of those musical genres, you should check out this solo project. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Hyperborean Folklore" and "Skadi's Longing For The Mountains". 8 out of 10.
https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/hyperborean-folklore