With the mission statement of wishing to create haunting and raw black metal, Serpent Eclipse, a US entry into the black metal world, succeeds rather nicely on this demo recording, which has been released to various press outlets in order to create a buzz for the band. Although Thy Bleeding Heavens does suffer from a slight tunnel quality to the recording, it is an overall strong piece of work that captures the intentions of the artist well. The band seems to have a bit of a Satyricon (particularly Nemesis Divina era) influence above all else in their approach. Keyboard are used to underscore and underline the speedy guitars, with a harsh troll vocalist in charge of blistering throat noises. The band also has a touch of technology to their raucous din, although not nearly to the degree of, say, Dødheimsgard or current Satyricon.

While not truly original to any degree, Serpent Eclipse does offer a handful of good material that works within what they are trying to accomplish. One can imagine a proper studio production on a debut full length will only enhance their sound greatly. Thy Bleeding Heavens is a solid introduction to a band that many may find of interest in the future.

Review by John Chedsey

Review date: 03/2001

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