Jul 032025
 

(written by Islander)
Originally emerging from the depths of Brazil’s extreme metal underground in 1998, Ophiolatry have earned increasing amounts of global attention over time, especially since their return with a renewed lineup in 2021 after a 13-year hiatus, and most especially because of the multi-faceted power of their newest album Serpent’s Verdict, released last month by WormHole Death Records, which has garnered a widespread positive response.

Even the album’s inspirations stand out. As described on behalf of the label: “The album delves into themes of spiritual revenge, indigenous resistance, and the clash between ancient traditions and imposed beliefs. Inspired by real events in the Amazon, mythology and existential suffering, the lyrics paint vivid scenes of war, punishment and transcendence through pain. Each song tells a story, whether it be warriors resurrected for revenge, the wrath of serpent gods, or the fall of oppressive ideologies. The words are raw, intense and unrelenting, reflecting the chaotic brutality of the music itself.”

Musically, the album stands out from the pack too, and as a reminder of that we’re premiering a video for the song “Revenge“.


L-R – Diego Santiago (Bass), Jaime Veron (Lead Vocals), Jhorge “Dog” Duarte (Drums), Fred Barros (Guitar)
Photography: Kevin Eisenlord, Anderson Hildebrando

Lead vocalist Jaime Veron summed up the album as a whole this way:

Ophiolatry’s latest album, Serpent’s Verdict, is a sonic ritual: a brutal, immersive descent into the cycle of destruction, revenge and rebirth. Rooted in themes of ancestral pain, war defiance and spiritual reckoning, the album fuses relentless Death Metal with primal energy. Each track is designed as a chapter in this narrative, combining aggressive riffs, guttural vocals and Tribal rhythms inspired by ancient warrior traditions. Based on indigenous spirituality, mythology and real historical atrocities, this album is not just music, it is an invocation of the past and a battle cry for the future.

Focusing on the song “Revenge,” Ophiolatry have explained that it “was inspired by a true event that occurred in the United Kingdom, where a woman killed her husband by placing boiling water mixed with sugar in her husband’s mouth when he was sleeping. She did so in an act of revenge after discovering accusations of child sexual abuse.”

The video we’re premiering flashes excerpts from contemporary news reports about this event in the midst of a fast-changing and mind-bending collage of other imagery that intensifies the horror of what the mother discovered and her murderous recourse, and the lyrics provide their own rendition of the perpetrator’s motivation.

As for the music, it’s also an explosive manifestation of murder and madness, just as fast and deranged as the flashing visuals. The opening riff itself boils, like the killer’s boiling instrument of death, and it rapidly pulsates and shrieks. It manifests fury, but also sets a big hook in a listener’s head — and other hooks keep coming.

The riffage viciously skitters, like frantic feeding insects, and it maniacally darts and insanely convulses. And while that’s happening the words are ejected in gritty malignant growls. Although the fleet-fingered guitar work seizes much of the attention, nimbly bubbling bass-lines seize a lot of attention themselves, adding to the song’s riveting impact.

The band’s rapid-fire changes keep the energy level in the red zone, even when the band insert rapid starts and stops, and a mind-warping guitar solo sends it to an even higher level of unhinged exhilaration.

For a death metal song this violently crazed at its core, it’s as intricate as it is jet-fast and wild. A high level of technical skill is required to pull off something like this, and Ophiolatry rise to the occasion in dazzling fashion. And to repeat a point made earlier, the song turns out to be as infection as it is murderously demented.

Serpent’s Verdict was produced, recorded, and mixed by Diego Santiago, and it was mastered by the great Dan Swanö at Unisound. It features cover art by LouLou, inspired by an actual sighting during the making of a video for one of the album’s songs.

WormHole Death recommends the album for fans of Morbid Angel, Death, Deicide, Cryptopsy, and Suffocation. Find more info about the band and the album (and how to get it) via the links below. We’re also including the previously released videos for two other album tracks, “Jesus Complex” and “Death Tour“.

BUY/STREAM:
https://orcd.co/serpentsverdict

OPHIOLATRY ONLINE:
https://www.ophiolatry.com.br/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063556233508
https://www.instagram.com/ophiolatry

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