On Velonnic Sin - Ophidious
It seems like with each passing year the American Black Metal Underground grows ever stronger, thus proving that you don't have to live in a cave in some icy forest in Norway to compose black metal music. The skeptics will remain of course, but eventually Europeans will have to cast their distaste for Americans aside, and realize that American Black Metal bands aren't about money, fame or being lame rockstars, but rather the ABMU is about in fact creating truly remarkable black metal art. Of these I feel Velonnic Sin is among one of the finest in this scene and for those fortunate enough to have heard their recent release 'Ophidious' they too have discovered what a phenomenal band VS is.
Velonnic Sin could probably be described as something like speedy melodic black metal with great musicianship from its two members Velinnos and Nemesis Infernum (also of Sin Origin) intertwined with interesting lyrics centering on serpents in different cultures and religions and showing how they have been rendered as either deities or demons. VS is however hardly just another fast metal band, as there are plenty of gloomy moments on this record and a few slower sections, but even as the music has the tendency to shift the band always comes back just as dynamically brutal as before. Plus with a great production and overall sound to the album and a diverse vocal performance ranging from tormented shrieks, low growls, spoken passages, and Gregorian styled chants; Ophidious is not an album to be missed.
- JJM of Lunar-HypnosisOPHIDIOUS
i. A Dream in Leucism
ii. Vengeance and the Gray
iii. Wyrm
iv. Lernaean Fiend
v. Impurity
vi. Constricting the Dead
vii. Deceit
viii. Shedding the Firmament