I’ve never been quite sure why companies and bands seem to hold such sway in rebranding. I mean, why would you spend a number of years building an identity, attracting fans and customers to that particular brand only to destroy it and start again? Retribution have decided that it is definitely the right choice for them, and maybe in their particular instance there are cases for it. Formerly being known by the less than inspiring name of Y3K, and having one full length album (and a number of demos behind them), it’s not as if they are casting an enormous legacy to the wind. Having released their previous album in 2007, they have hit the reset button and are working on a new album. In the meantime they have offered a taster of what’s to come with this 4 track EP.
The first thing that stands out about ‘Opus Serpentis’ is the production, which has an enormous, and enormously expensive feel about it, and to be fair that is what you would expect from symphonic black metal. The sound and feel is up there with the later Dimmu Borgir material, and when you consider that Retribution are completely self-financing this makes it all the more impressive. Musically they are very tight, with particular praise being reserved for the drums and guitars, both of which are of very high quality. Singer Vicent Maroto has a serious rasp about his vocals, again raising comparisons to Dimmu, although there is little variation in his style. The major problem for me is the operatic backing vocal. I have to admit that this is a personal little bugbear of mine and it’s one of the reasons I cannot stand bands like Therion, where the yelping warbling style tends to make every song sound like the theme tune from Dogtanian & The Three Muskehounds, (look it up kids). If unlike me you are quite comfortable with the operatic style, you will have no problem here.
From the 4 tracks that have been offered here, it’s clear that Retribution are in fine creative form, and the scale of tracks like ‘Corpus Antichristi’ and the epically cinematic ‘Promised Land’ puts them well above the average band looking for label support. As symphonic black metal goes it leans very much towards the commercial end of the scale, but that approach not only fits their style and image, but is also the most likely to generate the long term results for them. The completed album should be quite interesting.
(7.5/10 Lee Kimber)
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