One of the better releases of late 2012, Snakereigns is a strong album overflowing with punk-laden black & roll rife with aggression and attitude. Sporting a meaty, angry sound and songs full of energy, the execution of Oslo’s Okkultokrati lies somewhere between vintage Celtic Frost, Fear, Venom and newer black ‘n’ roller’s Midnight. It’s difficult to pin down any direct correlation between Okkultokrati to one singular band in terms of a comparison because they have coalesced so many different elements of extreme music into their style.

At times they are old school Norwegian black metal in the vein of Darkthrone, but then they’ll switch it up to a quasi crossover attack. There’s a lot to like with Snakereigns and their brand of extreme music is diverse enough to garner a wider audience. And most importantly, their music is dripping with the sort of raw energy that makes even the most passive of songs sound like a riotous crowd.

Mixing their energetic and lively music with catchy, groove-laden hooks sounds seamless for the quartet. The guitars and bass of BlackRace and Le Ghast, respectively, gel perfectly with the simplistic-yet-effective battery of Verminscum, which all molds together with the harsh, assertive vocals of Black Qvisling. Okkultokrati have hit the proverbial ball out of the park with Snakereigns because it is as accessible as it is harsh, something that very few bands with this little experience are able to pull off.

Similar to what countrymen Kvelertak accomplished with their self-titled debut, Okkultokrati have taken the quasi metal mixed with rock and punk super sub-genre to the next level. There aren’t any fancy string noodlings for the sake of being cute/technical and there isn’t a hint of any sort of finesse or melody, either. Rather, it’s in your face extreme rock, like Iggy & The Stooges meets Wolverine Blues­ mixed with To Mega Therion all rolled into one, especially on “I Thought of Demons.”

While it’s not the best album of the year and one that won’t land on this scribe’s year-end best-of list, this one is just a peg below. 2012 has been a terrific year for metal and Snakereigns essentially closed out the year with a bang. This little bastard comes highly recommended.

[Visit the band's website]

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