INCUBUS (LA) — Serpent Temptation (review)

INCUBUS (LA) — Serpent Temptation album cover Album · 1988 · Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
2.5/5 ·
UMUR
Serpent Temptation is the debut full-length studio album by US death/ thrash act Incubus. The album was released in 1988 by Brutal Records. The album was re-released in 1996 with re-recorded vocal tracks, revised lyrics and new cover artwork.

The music on the album is thrash metal with a few hints towards death metal. Think early Sepultura or early Kreator and you´re just about there. Listening to the vocals on this original version of the album, it´s obvious why the band chose to re-record them for the 1996 re-release. The vocals are raw and kind of raspy as the style/ genre requires, but they are pretty badly performed. They are without punch and it´s quite a shame as the rest of the music is actually pretty good old school thrash metal. The production doesn´t help on my overall impression of the album either. Again the sound lacks punch and the drums have a kind of odd sound to them ( something that´s unbelievable they didn´t fix on the re-release).

Most people became aware of Incubus through their 2nd album Beyond The Unknown (1990) which added a lot more death metal influences to the band´s sound. So it´s probably a bit unfair to review Serpent Temptation in a retrospective fashion, but I can´t help compare the two albums in terms of quality. And there is a major difference. Compared to Beyond The Unknown, Serpent Temptation simply fall flat on it´s face and be warned that even though you are a fan of Beyond The Unknown, you won´t necessarily find listening pleasure in Serpent Temptation ( at least not in the original version).

So all in all Serpent Temptation isn´t a revelation and honestly it´s a below average thrash metal album even for 1988. Maybe I´m being too nice but a 2.5 star rating is warranted.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Rot Stink Rip Death Metal
TOMBSTONER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Human Rosin Melodic Metalcore
HATE BREEDER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Through The Hell Hardcore Punk
ENEMY 906
Buy this album from MMA partners
Lightmatter: Rebirth Deathcore
EARTHGAZER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Eye Of Horus (Lightmatter EP Pt. 2) Deathcore
EARTHGAZER
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Agremorta - Adrocitas (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 5 days ago
Agremorta - Ploratus Umbra (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 5 days ago
Agremorta - Vertex Membrana (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 5 days ago
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR - The Temple Of Curved Space (Official Track Stream)
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR
adg211288· 5 days ago
In Sulfur - The Gate (OFFICIAL VIDEO) 2022
IN SULFUR
Bosh66· 6 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed