Band:	Serpentine Dominion
Album:	Serpentine Dominion
Style:	Death metal
Release date:	October 28, 2016
Guest review by:	omne metallum

01. Intro
02. The Vengeance In Me
03. Vanquished Unto Thee
04. Divide, Conquer, Burn, And Destroy
05. Sovereign Hate
06. On The Brink Of Devastation
07. Jagged Cross Legions
08. Prelude
09. This Endless War

It is more the exception than the rule that I am drawn to a group by who is in it rather than listening blindly first then going on to find out the members, but Serpentine Dominion is one of these exceptions. Featuring Corpsegrinder from Cannibal Corpse, Adam Dutkiewicz from Killswitch Engage and Shannon Lucas once of The Black Dahlia Murder, you can damn well bet I jumped at the chance to hear the resulting album.

Serpentine Dominion is the result of this collaboration of talent and it is a decent listen and worth following up on your curiosity. The result is as much as you would expect; Corpsegrinder is much his usual self sans the tales of brain-wrenching terror over some guitar work by Dutkiewicz, who modifies his usual sound to emphasize the heavier element of it while not totally abandoning the melodic aspect - he balances death metal riffage while injecting it with his usual style.

The resulting album is a collection of songs that emphasizes different ends of this spectrum; songs like "Sovereign Hate" and "Jagged Cross Legions" are more melodic (though still heavy) tracks, whereas "Vanquished Unto Me" is out-and-out death metal. Where the band hit their stride is when they balance both these aspects on one track, such as on "On The Brink Of Devastation", which sounds like Killswitch Engage's possessed cousin.

Dutkiewicz does a good job behind the production desk, giving the album his standard sound; the fact he does this with apparent ease with a band who sit much further down the heavier spectrum than his usual fare is noteworthy. To his further credit, he also does this without sacrificing any element within the band's sound; no one element of the song is sacrificed in the mix to benefit the other. It seems obvious, but it is something that happens often with supergroups.

This album should be taken as it is meant to be, a fun run through nine tracks of death metal; it isn't a world altering release, but it will keep you entertained. As much as I like Corpsegrinder, it would have been interesting to see him alter up his approach on the album; while it is not to say he is a bad singer, it seems like a wasted opportunity to not try something new here. That said, I can imagine the result not being to everyone's taste, much like those who clamour for their sports team to change their manager and then disparage the eventual replacement - be careful what you wish for and all that.

Serpentine Dominion is well worth a listen if you find your curiosity piqued upon hearing who is in the line-up. This would appear to be the sole release from the band, but it is something worth pulling out the depths of time and revisiting; while it sounds like a novelty release, the sheer power of it will rip that smile off your face and remind you that ultimately it can stand on its own merits.