I'm not impressed. Bestial black metal is supposed to be gritty, dark, and brutal with tinges of cult-like atmosphere. Triumphus Serpentis Magni has the grittiness, the "dark" sound, and tinges of the atmosphere, but the brutality is lost in the poor mixing and muffled production.
Now before you bitch me out with rants about how black metal (especially bestial black metal) is supposed to be muddled and poorly produced, this album doesn't have the songwriting to back it up. Everything on Triumphus Serpentis Magni is predictable and as uninspired as the legions of Canadian bands that wish they were Blasphemy. Honestly even after listening to the album a few times, I can't recall anything about the first two tracks "Branded By Hornz" and "The Firstborn of Abhorrence." They're both very typical exercises in bestiality with a generic structure and forgettable soloing. The compilation ends with a Beherit cover from the kvlt classic Drawing Down The Moon. It's alright, but still a cover.
However I did find myself somewhat enjoying the track "Illusion of Salvation." Obviously it's dense and murky like the rest of the release, but it has a great headbanging riff and a few slower segments making it less formulaic. The track "Azazel" is by and far the best on here though, with some extremely aggressive drumming and a discernible main riff. It's a pounding whirlwind with slightly better production than the rest of the release.
Even as a compilation I guess Triumphus Serpentis Magni falls flat since it only covers one of their splits with Blaze Of Perdition (and technically some demo material), but whatever. Based on the number of quality tracks (two out of five) and the half-decent cover, I feel like this short compilation is pretty average.
5.0 out of 10
Tracklisting:
| 1. | Branded By Hornz | ||
| 2. | The Firstborn of Abhorrence | ||
| 3. | Illusion of Salvation | ||
| 4. | Azazel | ||
| 5. | Gate of Nanna (Beherit cover) |
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