Serpent Worship - Blood & Venom

 

Serpent Worship - Blood & Venom
Nailed Nazarene Industries - November 2020
Doom, sludge, psych
Rated: ****

Following up on last year's blasphemously heavy debut, one-man Washington doom project Serpent Worship delivers more sludgy, psychedelic darkness on epic two tracker Blood & Venom. Comprised of two six-plus minute instrumental tracks, Serpent Worship's scale remains epic while adding in even more psych flavoring. First track "Seep" creeps in with spooky Western vibes, and an intro of minimalistic guitar brings to mind the Dead Weather. The project's trademark low end isn't far behind, however, as the grimy, molasses-thick bass quakes forth. Crunching stoner riffage nods forwards with crashing drums, before a shift back to subdued strings and one final, massive Iommic riff. Second track "Drugged" is no less crushing as it rolls in on waves of stoner and doom. One welcome surprise is the vicious noise rock lick that cuts in, adding a nasty edge to the proceedings. The drums are pounding, crisp but ominous beneath somber keening guitar notes. The highlight of the track, however, is the organ freakout in the second half that takes the song into even more extreme psych territory. Serpent Worship kneels at the altar of relentlessly heavy doom, and his latest is no different. Chock-full of gruesomely deep low end and new touches of Western and psychedelia,  Blood & Venom is without a doubt one of the year's top short releases. Worship the serpent.

(Written by Shasta Beast)

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