On saying that, 'The Serpent's Curse' is really very good. When you cut through all the pomp and drama you will find an album of ferocious symphonic and Goth Metal that could make a good soundtrack for an invasion of the armies of darkness as they march across the tabletop of yer local war games emporium.
The one thing it lacks is a killer track. Opener 'Cry Of Our Nation', after a gentle intro kicks in with a big symphonic heavy as fuck drive that promises some serious action and sets the scene for the rest of the album. There are bits that fleetingly grab your attention but there is no one track that demands you press play again; nothing that could set this record apart from the rest of the herd.
The biggest disappointment, however, about 'The Serpent's Curse' is lead vocalist Emily Alice Ovenden. As a member of the number one selling act Mediaeval Baebes, she has strangely omitted to bring any ye olde worlde influences to bear on the album. I say strangely because Pythia seem to have borrowed bits from everywhere else except the one place that could have made a real difference; the traditional heritage of their homelands.
It is a mix that has been proven to work very well and would have lifted this album from the very good to the simply outstanding.
Despite the criticisms though, this album is more than capable of standing on its own two feet and if the dramatic, heavy and pompous Metal of the Wagnerian Gothic is your thing then I think you will find 'The Serpent's Curse' most worthy of your time.
Play loud.
Band Pythia
Info: The Serpent's Curse
Years: 2012
Time: Symphonic Power Metal
Info: UK
Info: VBR V0
Info: 83 mb
Tracklist:
01. Cry Of Our Nation
02. Betray My Heart
03. Kissing The Knife
04. Just A Lie
05. Dark Star
06. Long Live The King
07. The Circle
08. My Perfect Enemy
09. Heartless
10. Our Forgotten Land
Emily Alice Ovenden - vocals
Richard Holland - keyboards
Tim Neale - guitars
Ross "Ross The Boss" White - guitars
Marc Dyos - drums
Mark Harrington - bass
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