More often than not, supergroups are a collective of guys or gals trying to get out side the box and deliver something more outside the realm of their full time endeavors as the folks try and spread their creative wings or whatever.

But sometimes, one only need look at the members involved and get a pretty clear idea of what the collective sounds like. And I could not be more forth right when I say Serpentine Dominion, which consists of George Fisher from Cannibal Corpse on vocals, Adam D from Killswitch Engage on guitars and Shannon Lucas from The Black Dahlia Murder, sounds exactly like you think it would, being a pretty perfect mix of all three bands.

Allegedly birthed back in 2009 when all three were touring on the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, Serpentine Dominion sound exactly how you picture it sounding. It’s basically Cannibal Corpse styled riffing complete with beefy guitar tone from A Skeletal Domain, KsE’s more melodic moments, solos and clean choruses, and with Shannon Lucas’s tight as fuck drumming. I could not be more clear on how it sounds.

The thing is, is that it is pretty damn good, and never comes across as forced or a simple money grab.  The mix of some savage and down right heavy Cannibal Corpse blasts and grooves (ie. first single “Vengeance in Me”, clearly pandering to the Cannibal Corpse crowd, and pummeling “Divide, Conquer, Burn and Destroy”, “Sovereign Hate”, “On the Brink of Devastation”) and some very nifty clean choruses and melodic KsE licks,  is both brutal and catchy, and the 9  songs ( 2 interludes) are all very good.  Fisher is….well….. Fisher bellowing more real world, current affairs, political and societal lyrics penned by KsE’s Jesse Leach (who also helps with the clean sung choruses), with blast furnace power and presence, though not hearing bellowing about guts, misogyny, gore, and the undead is weird.

When not rendering the super chunky death metal riffage or beefed up up KsE/TBDM riffs, Adam D adds some really nice, clearly KsE based melodies into the songs, and I’ll be damned if they all stick.  The first one in “Vanquished Unto Thee” caught me by surprise after the opener, but I was hooked, looking forward to the next one, which arises in “Sovereign Hate”, then a really nice one in “Jagged Cross Legions”, a real melodic barnstormer. The best is saved for last though, as closer “This Endless War”, the album’s best cut delivers a perfect mix of both styles with a really nice chorus.

The whole album is under 30 minutes long, so it does not mess about, and there are no ballads or lengthy introspective songs, just an intro and an acoustic interlude (“Prelude”). So if you ever wanted to know what KsE would sound like if they had a legendary death metal vocalist, or if  Cannibal Corpse added some melody, sounded like, Serpentine Dominion is your answer.

[Visit the band's website]

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