Serpent God | Denial | Inverse Records

Release Date: October 10th, 2025

Format: Digital/CD

Genre: Melodic Death, Doom Metal

Country: Finland

Serpent God comes from Iisalmi in Finland, created in 2023 during writing sessions of Se, josta ei puhuta. Ideas that drifted toward slower or more haunting directions gathered their own gravity and soon demanded a separate home. The trio kept the extreme metal roots close, although they welcomed influences from doom, post rock and touches of stranger textures. The result is a project that moves with patience and shadowy atmosphere, shaped by Samu Männikkö, Juho Pekka Lappalainen and Jimi Myöhänen.

“Denial” arrives as a debut that understands the colder edge of melodic death metal and the patient heaviness of doom. Serpent God uses these two directions as its main spine, then folds in a few drifting sounds that give the album a strange northern personality. The songs move in long arcs, carrying a heavy emotional weight and using space with intention. Nothing here rushes, nothing fires off without reason. The trio prefers a slow tightening of atmosphere, as if the landscape around them keeps closing in.

The guitars shape most of the album’s character, building thick walls, then stepping aside for smaller melodic trails that lurk behind the distortion. Vocals bring an angry rasp that stays raw, as if someone is speaking through a storm. The rhythm section keeps everything grounded, steady and heavy, with drums that strike with purpose and bass lines that add a darker undercurrent. Even when the band drifts toward calmer passages, there is always a cold pressure underneath.

The album moves through its nine tracks with a sense of tragic storytelling. There are quiet moments that feel haunted, followed by sudden surges that sound like buried anger waking up. Instead of dramatic twists, the band relies on steady tension, building scenes that hold their own presence. The mixture of melodic death and doom is balanced in a way that gives “Denial” a strong identity. It stays heavy, but the emotion behind it is sharp, direct and sometimes unsettling.

By the end, the album leaves the impression of a band that knows exactly what kind of darkness they want to shape. “Denial” is not flashy, it is not chaotic, it is a concentrated expression of sorrow, grit and frozen landscapes. As a debut, it stands solid and promises even sharper edges in the future. Serpent God steps into the scene with a voice that already sounds confident in its direction, and the album holds enough depth to return to many times.

Score: 7.5

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/serpentgodband

https://www.instagram.com/serpentgodband

https://www.tiktok.com/@serpentgodband

https://serpentgod.bandcamp.com