24th October 2022

Review: “Gallery Of Sin” by Veil Of The Serpent

After releasing no less than five well received singles in “When Fear Becomes The Law“, “Into The Moon“, “Enter The Culling“, “Dark Saga” and “The Scarred“, it is now time for a grander unveiling from from transatlantic trio Veil Of The Serpent. For their debut EP “Gallery Of Sin” they have chosen to create a concept EP for release on Halloween, a three track affair which tells a horror story about a detective hunting down a serial killer that makes paintings using the blood of his victims. Originally conceived in 2020 by guitarist and engineer Gene and his son, drummer Felix who now manages the group, the pair found American vocalist and lyricist JD Stafford a year later and together forged their evil plans as they began their journey down the left hand path…

…A haunting melody that echoes the Johnny Cash rendition of “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails is the uneasy backbone of the first half of “Profiling A Demon“, accompanied by the soulful all clean vocals of JD Stafford which paint a picture of a man falling apart. Tearing himself limb from limb in the mirror and calling out for his pills before the guitars come down and the twisted tail really beings. The protagonist has become a Monster, defiling his victims and recording it for all the World to see, accompanied by an 80’s pre-Thrash soundtrack that is a little bit cheesy in the early Wednesday 13 sense. A shorter acoustic introduction brings in “Gallery Of Sin” with some surprise uncleans as Stafford tells another dark tale, this time over classic Thrash riffs that find Veil Of The Serpent in Kreator territory. The solo is warm but not over the top or virtuoso, Gene instead keeping the rhythms blazing to develop a darker atmosphere, the acoustic drop out before the final verse a nod of Mercyful Fate. Old School but clever with it and benefiting from a clean and crisp sound, “The End And The Beginning” crosses the clean warblings with the harsh uncleans to display a split personality. The mid track haunting leads sound like they belong to the soundtrack to a Robert Rodriguez classic, a real moment of quality that lifts the cut. It will be interesting to see where they go from here… [7/10]

Track Listing