Serpentine – Circle Of Knives

AOR Heaven (April 2015)

Reviewer: Dan Mann

Serpentine are back with a brand new album, Circle Of Knives, their third release.

There have been two changes to the band’s line up with original bassist Gareth Vanstone and vocalist Matt Black having left the band. Taking the reigns vocally is ex-Tidal singer Adam Payne, who I have to say really suits what is a very mature sound to the album. They have chosen well in Matt’s replacement in my opinion. And so to the album itself. What your presented with are ten tracks, which represent what melodic hard rock is all about. It’s not hard to notice the influence of Gary Hughes (Ten) who has helped the band find their direction and it’s nice to see Sheena Sear once again take the reigns in the final mix.

We Kick off with Season Of The Witch, a track that builds until you’re greeted with a wall of guitar & keyboards. The mix is not dominated by one particular instrument, nor does it come across as muddied thankfully. Next up is La Tragedienne (The Actress) which will without a doubt appeal to Ten fans and features some excellent keyboard work from Gareth David Noon. The album continues in very much the same vein with Forever, guitarist Chris Gould delivering some sterling playing. He really does deserve more recognition. The Hardest Fall is I’d say a more forceful track, picking up the tempo somewhat, before slowing down for the ballad style Bleed. A very strong keyboard intro greets us for Where Does Your Heart Beat Now, which reinforces how tight the band sound. Again the tempo is turned up several notches for Bound By The Strings Of Discord, a very pacy track with some serious skin pounding by drummer Roy Millward. The title track, Circle Of Knives starts off with an atmospheric feel before picking up the pace and leading us head log into the second longest track on the album. Once again exemplary guitar work by Chris Gould helps keep the track on an even keel. Such A Long Way Down would not of been out of place on the last Shy album, with Adam sounding like Lee Small, which let’s face it ain’t a bad thing. And so the final track on the album, Suicide Days. This track has a slightly different slant, not that it’s out of place on the album and it’s a difference I can’t quite put my finger on but very enjoyable all the same. To sum up, the album is certainly strong enough to stand up against the competition and deserves to help propel the band to greater heights. Serpentine fans won’t be disappointed and I think it will garner more fans for the band.