Serpent Cobra - Beware EP

Labels: Helter Skelter Productions/Stoner Witch Records

Formats: Vinyl/Tape/Digital

Release Date: 25 Feb 2022

Tracklist:

1. Walpurgisnight

2. Beware

3. Bloody Countess

Argentinian doom/proto-metal is my jam this evening in the form of Serpent Cobra, who released their latest EP Beware in February via Helter Skelter Productions and Stoner Witch Records. Serpent Cobra started out as a duo in 2017 but it was 2020 that saw them release their first music, coinciding with the addition of two new members. After the Master Of It All single, they released their debut album Anatomy Of Abuses with the help of both Stoner Witch Records and Interstellar Smoke Records. New EP Beware features three tracks and is available digitally from the band, as well as on both vinyl and tape from the labels mentioned above.

We’re not far off flying headfirst into a new working week, so a final bit of escapism is needed. Serpent Cobra bring it in spades on Beware. ‘Walpurgisnight’ is a mid-paced heavy metal/doom song cut from the cloth of Sabbath and Candlemass, with some added South American flair. The clean vocals sit well amongst the percussion and hypnotic riffs, while the lead-guitar wails later on. 

The EP’s title-track ‘Beware’ is an instrumental that’s a world away from it’s opener. It’s gentle and almost folky in places, though it still has some sinister undertones to it. ‘Bloody Countess’ rounds things out with a bass-heavy slab of stoner doom. I think there’s more punk to this release than meets the eye, but that could be just my ears deceiving me. Either way, it’s a cool way to end.

Beware acts as a teaser before the release of Serpent Cobra’s second LP and it’s a good place to start if (like me) you’re new to the band. It should appeal to those who like occult rock, as well as the aforementioned sub-genres. It also reminds me that I need to dive back into the slower, groovier side of metal with more gusto again.

For fans of: Acid Mammoth, Jess And The Ancient Ones, Alunah, Candlemass & The Hidden Hand. 

You can stream and purchase Beware digitally below:-

Serpent Cobra - https://www.facebook.com/serpentcobraheavydoom

Physical copies can be purchased from the labels below:-

Stoner Witch Records - https://www.stonerwitchrecords.com/

Helter Skelter Productions (Distributed by Shadow Records/Regain Records) - 

https://www.shadowrecords.se/

Stoner Witch Records - https://www.facebook.com/stonerwitchrecords

Helter Skelter Productions - https://www.facebook.com/helterskelterproductions