Swedish melodic death metal band SERPENT have unleashed the title track from their long-awaited debut full-length, The Pit and the Pendulum, due November 14th via Hammerheart Records. The song is available now across streaming platforms alongside an official lyric video.
Formed in Stockholm’s underground metal scene in 2000, SERPENT spent the following decade building a devoted following through six demo releases. More than two decades after their formation, the band are now preparing to deliver their first full-length statement, combining razor-sharp guitar work, haunting melodies and melodic death metal aggression with a fascination for occultism and some of history’s darkest chapters.
“The Pit and the Pendulum” draws inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe’s nightmarish depiction of the Spanish Inquisition, setting the tone for an album steeped in clandestine rites, necromancy, witch hunts, plague and religious persecution.
Elsewhere on the record, “Der Hexenjäger” confronts the legacy of notorious English witch-hunter Matthew Hopkins, while “Salem 1692” plunges into the hysteria and bloodshed of the Salem witch trials. Closing track “Magna Mortalitas” turns toward the Black Death of 1347–1351 and its devastating march across Europe.
The album’s artwork was created by renowned illustrator Gyula Havancsák, whose credits include Nile, Kreator and Accept. Rather than simply establishing the record’s atmosphere, the cover incorporates symbols, motifs and references tied to the songs and themes found throughout The Pit and the Pendulum.
Watch the official lyric video for “The Pit and the Pendulum” here:
Pre-order The Pit and the Pendulum
The Pit and the Pendulum Tracklist
- Introitus Ad Inferos
- Serpent Rising
- Necromancer
- The Pit and the Pendulum
- Der Hexenjäger
- Lightbringer
- Season of the Witch
- Salem 1692
- Magna Mortalitas
SERPENT’s The Pit and the Pendulum will be released November 14th on CD, LP and digital formats via Hammerheart Records.