THE SERPENT'S EGG

That word could describe precisely not only this, but several DCD albums, if we wanted to find a suitable adjective to their albums, i am sure we may find words such as wonderful, amazing, even beautiful, but this time after listening to it once more, delightful was the first one to come to my mind.

So i am here again, after a one-month gap (or more) without reviewing anything, but remembering that DCD is a band i like a lot and were added here recently, so what better than a review to show what i think about it, i am pretty sure that much more people know this band, but i actually haven`t seen any review of them so far, i suppose there are some, but at least this will be the first one of this album released in 1988 which was called "The Serpent`s Egg".

Sometimes i like to write a brief introduction to the band, this time despite knowing several of their albums, i dont really know the band`s history, i believe they were formed in the early 80`s by 4 people, but then they have been working as a 2-people band with several guest musicians, these two people are Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard. This was their fourth album, and i choose this because it was the first DCD i listened, and because it features "The Host of Seraphim" which was the one that caught my attention, i know its obvious because its the first song of the album, but actually i already knew a couple of songs before listening to the whole album.

So, "The Serpent`s Egg" is a delightful album composed by 10 songs and over 35 minutes of music which could be described as gothic, ambient, electronic, renaissance, folk, experimental, etc, it depends on each mind, what its clear is that this is a unique band with an own style. As i mentioned above, the album opens with "The Host of Seraphim", the longest song of this album (over 6 minutes) but those 6 minutes are pure bliss, beautiful music, some people may not like Lisa`s voice, but believe me that its unique and beautiful in my opinion, the atmosphere in that song, along with her voice make a perfect mixture in order to create a magnific song. "Orbis De Ignis" is a short song, only vocals, a short but great moment, anyway this kind of moments could be found in every DCD album. "Severance" is the first one which features Brendan`s vocals, which also are magnific, they can do anything for you, if you had a terrible day, just listen to this kind of songs and you will feel comfortable and relaxed, because you are having what you need, beautiful music, feed for your ears, i am not saying that this is an easy listening album, no way, but if you have your mind open, i am sure you will adore it. "The Writing on my Father`s Hand" is another excellent song, the disadvantage could be that the ryhtm is repetitive and might bore you, but if you like progressive electronic and some kind of "ambient-folk" music, you will love this, listen to the magnific progression, awesome!, the only i would ask is to make longer these kind of songs. "In the Kingdom of the Blind" returns to Brendan`s vocals, it is not fair to compare or even choose, i mean some people might say that they prefer Lisa`s voice over Brendan one, well actually this was a personal experience, because someday watching a DCD video my father said that it would be better if the man didn`t sing, its all about tastes and opinion, but i challenge you to say something like that after listening to this song, the music and the vocals make a perfect piece, nothing more. "Chant of the Paladin", of course a song with "chants" included, as it is in several of their songs, probably this is the most repetitive song, but as i sometime said taking Ozric Tentacles as an example, the more repetitive their music is, the more addicted to their sound you get. "Song of Sophia" and "Echolalia" are short pieces which together reach only 2:30 minutes, the first one does not have another instrument but Lisa`s vocals, if you listen to it as deeper as you can, you may find that your skin has changed due to the goosebumps it provokes, and the second one features both voices, with an alike style but at the same time very different. "Mother Tongue" will be the first song you find with a "harder" rythm, due to the percussion which make a folkish sound, get up and move with its rythm, well i will give you a comparision, remember Peter Gabriel`s Passion album?, well this song reminds me a lot to it. "Ullyses" is the song that finishes this awesome album, and it is for sure a perfect end for The Serpent`s Egg, the atmosphere created makes a blissful song, for you who say that DCD are not even prog related, listen to these kind of songs, i am sure you will change your mind, awesome music!

As you noticed, i really love this album and i know i use to be a bit repetitive in my reviews but hope you find this one at least a little bit interesting, i invite you to listen to Dead Can Dance, The Serpent`s Egg is a magnific album, once you like it, i am sure you will love most of their releases, give it a chance, if you dont like it, well its just not for you.

Despite having written a very enthusiastic review of an album i love, i do not consider it is a masterpiece of progressive music, however, i am convinced it would be an excellent addition to any prog lover, so 4 stars is my final grade.

Enjoy it!!

Share this DEAD CAN DANCE review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to memowakeman
• Report this review (#152336)
• Buy DEAD CAN DANCE music online with PA partners
• Show all DEAD CAN DANCE MP3/Stream
• Go to DEAD CAN DANCE page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to The Serpent's Egg page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for DEAD CAN DANCE related discussions