Byzantine -- 'And They Shall Take Up Serpents' [classic review]

Byzantine
"And They Shall Take Up Serpents "
(Prosthetic Records)


"We are late 80's early 90's Heavy Metal. I think we are a throwback band. Seriously, our influences are predominantly from that time i.e. Carcass, Forbidden, and Testament. We love to have melody juxtaposed with abrasive rhythms, without sounding too fancy or glossed over. Some people have said we are 'tech-metal' and some have said 'hardcore' but I don't hear that at all."

-- Byzantine guitarist/vocalist Chris "OJ" Ojeda

The beauty of "And They Shall Take Up Serpents" is that each track is chock-full of tempo-shifts and epic guitar interplay. And the lead vocals act almost as a homage to older work by Phil Anselmo -- there's an abrasive, aggressive full-on metal delivery but with the ability to shift into soaring melody at the drop of a hat within the same song.

The tight, yet expansive sound comes from the fact that this is simply a three-piece. With Rohrbough handling the bass and part of the rhythm and lead guitars, Ojeda the other rhythm and leads in addition to piano tracking and vocals and Wolfe handling the percussion but also delving into some acoustic guitar interludes, Byzantine offers up a tight-knit collection of fast-paced mayhem, albeit organized mayhem

From the Ministry-influenced machine gun opening of "Justica," Byzantine immediately sets out to prove there's no screwing around on "... Serpents." It's almost impossible to imagine all this sound coming from a three-piece: the blistering trade-off drumming and bass fills; the breakneck dual guitar riffing -- and that's all in the first minute of the album. Once OJ kicks in with the scratchy vocals and the final piece of the puzzle falls into place, one need only wait for the album to unfold minute by masterful minute.

On the title track, the band seamlessly pulls influence from various corners of the genre: the death metal drumming and bass work, the thrash guitar riffing and early-90s, in-your-face, metal vocals. The crunch of "Ancestry of the Antichrist" is tempered with various tempo changes and even a Soulfly-worthy acoustic breakdown of sorts -- when the vocals eventually kick back in during the later half of the song, the band's groove-laiden soul is on full display -- with everything pulled together by one sole, simple, repetitive riff. The Byzantine assault comes on full bore on "Temporary Temples," the high-speed tempo never letting up as solo after solo is strung together to form a wall of sound.

Indeed, there's a little nuance in every song that pushes each just that little but further to create something special: the sick groove of "Five Faces of Madness," the desperation vocals on "Red Neck War," the down-tuned crunch on "The Rat Eaters" and the explosive vocals and expansive nature the band's best song, "Jeremiad."

The band is able to take pieces from the broad metal spectrum, crush it all together with a liberal helping of groove and excess and bleed the mix until it coagulates around a solid core of talent. I've tried to sample a hefty range of new metal acts to hit the scene in the past couple of years, but none seem to come close to presenting such an epic, progressive sound. Shadows Fall come close but don't seem to have as expansive a well to pull from; Trivium's sound feels more crisp; Mastodon is more muddy.

"And They Shall Take Up Serpents" seemed to be a fairly overlooked release in 2005. It's fresh, exciting and no matter how much you listen to the album, it never seems to get boring.