Serpent Column – Tassel of Ares (Review)

This is the fourth album from US solo black metal band Serpent Column.

Tassel of Ares is a 39-minute avant-garde black metal album brought to us by the artist behind Theophonos. The style is dissonant, esoteric, and obscure, yet remarkably accessible for that. Serpent Column’s music is an impressive beast.

So, for a stylistic staring point, think Deathspell Omega, Krallice, and Ὁπλίτης (Hoplites). The furious intensity of the latter in particular, blended with a riff-focused approach that’s highly compelling, should give a rough guide of what to expect on Tassel of Ares. It should be noted though that Serpent Column is an entity all of it own though.

The songwriting is lengthy and involved, building worldscapes that span vast blackened vistas. The music is adept at creating depth and substance through engaging riffs, spectral melodies, and emotive layers. It’s dark, bleak, and mournful, yet utterly captivating in its exploration of dissonant blackened atmosphere. There’s violence and aggression aplenty, but Tassel of Ares is primarily concerned with the crafting of mood-based works of art.

Tassel of Ares is complex and intricate, but due to the way that the guitars work their arcane magic, it feels less impenetrable than many other albums that operate in similar spheres. As mentioned above, it’s remarkably accessible for what it is, although this is all relative, as this is certainly not music with a mass appeal.

Tassel of Ares is a journey into the underworld, an expedition that’s richly rewarding and extremely satisfying. It’s an album that grows in stature upon every subsequent listen, as its labyrinthine turns slowly become imprinted on your mind.

Essential listening.