Riff Armageddon Supreme – 93%
stainedclass2112, August 20th, 2019
Written based on this version: 2008, CD, Metal Mind Productions (Reissue, Digipak, Limited edition)
Incubus’ Serpent Temptation is one of those awesome cult-classic records in the death thrash scene that is revered by thrash fans and death metal worshipers alike, much in the vein of great stuff like Num Skull’s Ritually Abused or Morbid Saint’s Spectrum of Death. Think vicious thrash metal that brings a heaping helping of death to the table. This release in particular, however, isn’t the same version that most fans know and love. It’s better than that.
A few years after the original Serpent Temptation came out; Incubus revisited the album and re-recorded it entirely. This one essentially renders the original one obsolete. The metal community tends to look harshly upon bands revisiting their old material to “improve” upon it, and I generally agree that it usually comes off as tacky and rarely has the same gusto as the original release, but this record here is a fine example of how sometimes going back and really capitalizing on some truly awesome material is a good move.
Enough words about the history behind it. Class dismissed! So the actual musical material at hand here kicks ass. These guys have an organic, burly approach to playing this death/thrash style that really comes across as something truly established, not just sloppy, grimy garage thrash. The songs power through many musical motifs and riffs with brute force, but there’s also a fairly clean-cut song structure going on in every track. There are lots of blast-beat sections and just as many traditional thrash sections and the two halves come together to sound like one unified sound, rather than “here’s a death riff! Now here’s a thrash riff!” It’s great songwriting. They don’t hesitate to pummel you, but they also give you a lot of great, catchy hooks to keep things fresh.
All of that applies to the original release, of course, but where this one improves upon the original is in a few main areas. I’ll be honest here; the vocals on the original are fairly wimpy. They’re redone here and they’re menacing and burly. The guitars sound a hell of a lot beefier, too. They’re gritty, thick, and defined; it’s a perfect guitar tone. The overall mix just sounds fuller and richer on this re-release; it’s nowhere near as thin and harsh in the high frequencies. Some of the songs are renamed, but essentially this is the exact same record musically as the original.
Highlights would definitely have to be “Battle of Armageddon” with that churning, slamming first minute and its killer maelstrom of different riff breaks and hooks and “Curtains Closed” with an initial spurt of death metal followed by an obscenely catchy riff break (that section starting at around a minute in is badass) and then more glorious death metal. “Abductions” finalizes the top 3 with my favorite thrash break on the album and a brutally chaotic chorus (AB-DUC-SHUNS!!!”). Wanna sample the album real quick? Try these three.
Overall though, this is all really great stuff. A hardcore fan of the original album might find it difficult to break into this one, but it’s still worth a listen. If you’ve never listened to the original Serpent Temptation, then make sure you listen to this one, too. It’s a favorite of mine when it comes to the great old school death thrash records, and everybody who’s into thrash metal and death/thrash would do well to track this down. Take this review as a recommendation for Serpent Temptation in general, but just know that my personal endorsement goes to this re-release.
rafazardly 