Album Review: Moanhand – Present Serpent (Burning Shine)

Hailing from Moscow, musician/songwriter Roman Filatov is the one-man, experimental metal music machine, Moanhand.

Created in 2016 as a vehicle for Filatov to flex his heavy metal muscle and classically tempered mind, he has since gone on to produce an imposing collection of music in recent years. Always under the radar and autonomous-in-action, his talents have culminated most recently in the release of Plague Sessions, an EP recorded live at Pentagram House Studio, in 2019. But 2021 will see his biggest project yet.

Explains Filatov:

I’ve always tried to avoid putting myself into boxed when making music. Present Serpent is definitely a hybrid of genres. It’s not just a doom, sludge or stoner album. There are a lot of different influences from black/death metal, post-metal, classical and even pop music. It’s as melodic as it is brutal.

Present Serpent will be officially released on 18th June 2021 on Burning Shine.

Showcasing a wide array of his musical influences, tastes and inspirations; Roman Filatov throws it all into a blender for something that is wholly unique to him. A 6-track album that blurs the genre-lines to excessive amounts. Each track is an epic of sorts with many different shifts and even more surprises.

Doom-powered, black-infused, melodic and post-tinged… you name it, Present Serpent has a ton of shades and colours. It encapsulates so much of what makes Moanhand such a unique one-man act. Which is really phenomenal considering the peaks and valleys Present Serpent takes us through.

It can be punishingly heavy, darkly mellow with hidden beauty and exceptionally emotive when needed. The grandeur on show is just as impressive even though it bleeds through in extremely heavy ways. The highlight of the record coming right at the end with the moving finale of The Boomerang of Serpents.

That’s a personal choice though as there is no arguing with the overall quality of this album. There’s not a single bad moment throughout and whereas some passages or sections might not have as much impact as others, there’s always a sense that it’s building to something spectacular. Often, the result is exactly that and it’s what makes each track a joy to listen to overall.

Moanhand – Present Serpent Full Track Listing:

1. Serpent Soul (A Tale of Angels’ Slaughter)
2. The Charmthrower
3. Nightwings
4. Endless Embrace
5. Raw Blessings
6. The Boomerang of Serpents

Links

Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube