Snakes & Liars is an album by Swedish heavy metal group Nekromant, released in June 16. Only thirty six minutes long, the record has nine tracks: Stoned to Death, Doomed to Die, Funeral Worship, Black Velvet, Ashes & Rain, Inside Yourself, Mardr?m, Never Saved, Snakes & Liars and Spelmannen. Obviously influenced by Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne – given the striking similarities in musical style and vocals –, despite the fact that traditional heavy metal is not one of my favorite genres, Snakes & Liars caught me by storm, revealing itself to be all the way through a surprisingly awesome, astoundingly decent and powerfully great album. With amazingly written guitar lines, a majorly conducted, but mostly ordained ferocity, an elevating respect for tradition – but never repetition – and the development of a mature, secure, genuine and singular style, Nekromant gives to its audience, with Snakes & Liars, a thoroughly overwhelming work of art. This album deserves all the compliments a contemporary heavy metal record could ever aspire to. Given the fact that the genre has mainly exhausted its possibilities, the gracious level of authenticity and creativity that Nekromant displays on this album is no minor achievement.
