Ophidian Forest’s debut album Redbad comes across as unquestionably pagan, but manages to avoid the cliches and tactics employed by most bands playing this style. You won’t find clean vocals, familiar folk melodies, unusual instruments or any kind of nature-inspired ambience on this album. Instead, Ophidian Forest spew forth black metal that is uncompromisingly primitive and deliciously creepy, creating a churning mass of blackness that evokes the dark and frightening reality of ancient times.

With members in Croatia, the Netherlands and San Francisco, CA, it’s impressive that Ophidian Forest have managed to achieve such a cohesive vision for this album. Redbad seethes with a gritty, old-school black metal sound that harkens back to the days of Mayhem and Darkthrone, although one difference is that the potent, low-end throb of the bass is surprisingly evident, giving the band’s sound some additional heaviness. What really got me hooked was the way the band uses keyboards. The keys take on a weird, eerie tone and will sometimes throw a twisted melody over the band’s crushing wall of sound, while other times they add an additional primeval vibe to the guitar lines. The vocals are also distorted to a level of punishing hatred that only makes the album more abrasive and disturbing.

Another interesting aspect of Redbad is the subject matter. The album focuses on the story of King Redbad, who ruled Frisia in the 7th and 8th centuries. Supposedly he refused baptism at the last second, choosing to spend eternity in Hell with his comrades rather than in Heaven with his enemies. Perhaps fittingly, the track ‘Pagan Pride in Hell’ is easily the album’s best, with its stark vocal opening followed by layers of sickening guitars and keyboards. Redbad contains plenty of other killer tracks, especially songs like ‘The Poisoning’ and ‘Shamanic Visions’ that employed the keyboards more extensively. Ophidian Forest is a band that should most definitely be on your radar.

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