The Demo Review:
WSM There are currently 1 Reviews of this Demo.
Average Rating: 1
Band Name: Winged Serpent Master
Demo Title: Serpent Sigil
Band Members: Adhab Al-Farhan (or Lord Nefarious) - Everything
Location: Maryland
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    • Kefka X's Review:
    I'm going to try to make this as short and blunt as possible. For me, "true Norwegian" black metal can only be taken in small doses. Musically I get sick of the horrible production. The songwriting doesn't appeal to me. With rare exceptions, it's relatively simple music to play. This wouldn't be as bad if there was some form of edge to the music, but most of the time there isn't. The facade that is portrayed through the scene is even worse. To me, the concept of wearing corpsepaint, giving yourself a dumb nickname and hanging out in the woods late on a school night is a pretty silly. But hey, that's just me. I know there are hordes of kids out there doing the same thing and thinking that it's cool. These are the same kids who try to summon demons of the underworld upon me whenever I go to the mall on a Friday night. Oh well, at least they're good Taco Bell employees.

    Ok, I said I was going to make this short, and I'm already stereotyping and ranting and what not. Winged Serpent Master is pure black metal. Everything you would expect from a "TR00" black metal recording is on this demo. Production straight from the inside of a tin can, tremolo picking for the duration of each song, even down to the funny vocals (yes, I'm describing the vocals as funny.) The whole thing is raw and dark. It's also very, very boring. Nothing against Lord Nefarious (snicker) at all, he's a good musician and for what the music is, it's done well. But it's poorly produced, the vocals are really, really awful (they make Varg Vikernes sound like an Ivy League professor), and the music doesn't stand out in any way possible. The mix of the recording makes everything sound thin BUT the vocals. The drum programming is uneven and often very awkward.

    I would try to have a bit more sympathy with this one, but the one-man musical act has been around for a few years now and has already released other works, so this isn't a first demo. I'm sure a one-skull rating is unfair, but I just don't like it at all. And I'm not going to lie about it. It's just not good. Fans of black metal can add a score to the skull since it will be a little more up their alley, but even then, there isn't anything inspiring to pull out of the release.
    1 out of 5

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