This is the Swedish sludge duo’s sequel to “Two Titans” (2012). I’d not heard that album but I have heard complimentary comments about Galvano from other people who know about them.
This album consists of four chunks, each lasting about ten minutes. Given the description, it came as no surprise to hear a growly crunchy black metal style. The developments within “The Gathering”, which opens this work, are interesting and exploring. The vocalists’ growls sound distant and other worldly. The riff is dancing, and there’s a lively and mobile feel as it speeds up. I just thought that if they’d knocked off a couple of minutes, I wouldn’t have noticed the difference. “Following the Trail” is in a similar vein. Distant-sounding roaring vocal peals accompany another mobile soundtrack, and so it goes on for four minutes, then becoming heavier and more expansive, indeed doom like. Where will it all lead us? Well, it took us to where we were before. A heavy, galloping rant ensues. When I first heard this album, I missed the start of “Stench of Prey”, not realising that the previous track had finished. The fact is that it continues crustily in the same old style. The riff is typically engaging but repetitive. There’s a bit of variation and even a quiet atmosphere mid stream but then it just hammers on too anonymously for me. “Driven Snow” shares the same quality, if that’s the word, of sounding the same for four minutes. It then breaks down before reverting to type. Am I missing something here? The pace is the same, there’s a reasonable level of intensity and I appreciate that it’s not entirely grey. It’s certainly dark and there’s a breakout moment but the formula, if not cast in stone, is solid. There’s a mild sense of drama but again my interest couldn’t have been that great because I only noticed it had stopped when I realised it had gone silent. That’s not good.
I liked the fact that the vocals weren’t overdone and were used to good effect on this album. Otherwise I found that there was little variation in style over the course of “Trail of the Serpent”, and all in all, while not uninteresting it lacked excitement.
(6/10 Andrew Doherty)
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