If you like your heavy metal traditional, Finnish and packed with gallops, you might want to turn your attention to Serpent Gates. The newcomers are gearing up to release their debut full-length, The Veil of Darkness, on 20th February via Venomoon Records, and they’ve just dropped a second single to whet the appetite.
The new track, “Down the Cross”, is a furious slice of “Maidenian” metal that doesn’t pull any punches. It follows their previous single, “Metamorphosis”, but ramps up the aggression significantly. While the project is the brainchild of drummer Juho Hakalax and guitarist Tuomas Västilä, they’ve drafted in a serious weapon for the vocals in the shape of Antony Parviainen (Psychework, Machine Men). His delivery on this track is absolutely massive.
Lyrically, the band aren’t shying away from the heavy topics. Lyricist Jegori Miinin explains the themes behind the new song:
“War and religion, the basic fuels of humanity and metal lyrics, are strongly present throughout the album’s lyrics, in addition to the general gloom. Thus, ‘Down the Cross’ also deals with religion and everything that is done under its guise.”
The album itself has been a long time coming. According to Hakalax, the concept dates back to his childhood dreams of releasing a record. It’s taken years of work to get from those schoolyard ideas to a finished product, but it sounds like the wait has been worth it. Speaking about the musical direction of the new single, Hakalax adds:
“When you’re a drummer writing songs, the starting point for the composition is often the rhythm. This was the case with the debut single ‘Metamorphosis’, but this time the rhythm pushed the whole thing in an even more extreme direction. The song’s aggressive beat was accompanied by a big riff and really fierce vocals, which Antony delivered magnificently.”
You can check out “Down the Cross” on all major streaming platforms.
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Header image by Vesa Holmala
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