Sea of Snakes are the latest signing to LA based Metal Assault Records and ‘World on Fire’ is their debut EP. The band consist of drummer Jeff Murray (Ex- the Shrine), guitarist Jim McCloskey (Ex – Motorsickle), bassist Mick Coffman and vocalist Tracy Steiger (Ex- Saul of Tarsus). Their aim is to “be loud, be heavy, and do what the fuck we want,”.

They certainly are loud and heavy, with a sound akin to classic Sabbath, Corrosion of Conformity, Down and Alice In Chains they have offered up an impressive debut that left me wanting to hear more. If you’re a fan of the aforementioned bands then you really should check out Sea of Snakes.

The band recorded the EP at the famous Total Access studio where such luminaries as St Vitus, Dio, Guns N Roses and Black Flag have recorded in the past. Studio owner Wyn Davis produced the EP and it has a great, thick, and sludgy sound. The cover art with skulls with snakes coming out of them is a good indication of what Sea of Snakes sound like. Opening track ‘Let the Fire Burn’ has the swagger and chug of Vol 4 era Black Sabbath, a real head banger. The rhythm section of Murray and Coffman really take the lead here with lots of swooshing crash cymbals and tom fills and thumping bass. McCloskey is no slouch in the guitar department either with plenty of wah pedal action. I really hope he was wearing bell bottoms whilst recording this! The accompanying animated video for the track is fantastic, full of snakes and winged demons. Of course!

‘Ride the Line’ is a more up-tempo affair with lyrics about lights in the sky and guns in hand. White Zombie comes to mind here with Steiger barking out the vocals with the rest of the band pounding away to their hearts content. ‘Son of Man’ is next up with more tasteful use of the wah pedal and vocalist Steiger sounds like Scott Weiland in parts here. That’s certainly no bad thing! The ‘take no bullshit’ lyrics fit the track perfectly and there’s more groove-laden drumming from Murray.

‘Fear Behind the Stare’ starts off innocently enough with some clean, almost pretty guitar work from McCloskey before another pulverising riff kicks in. The final track ‘Drink Your Teeth’ has a ‘Facelift’ era Alice In Chains feel to it with its solid backbeat and dream-like guitar tones. The track flows seamlessly into a thrashy crescendo with Steiger screaming like Cobain on ‘Territorial Pissings’

When the EP was finished, I really wanted to hear more and felt like I’d just got started with my Sea of Snakes journey. This is a solid effort from the band and I eagerly await to see what comes next from these guys.

Buy the EP Here

Author: Kenny Kendrick