Still Remains

The Serpent

[2.5/5]

Still Remains’ 2005 Roadrunner debut, Of Love And Lunacy, revealed great promise of a band who could successfully fuse the cacophonous thrash of heavy metal with mellifluous melody and a unique take on interlacing keyboards. Unfortunately, the band-who have lost several members since the release of Lunacy-mostly fail to live up to that promise on The Serpent. Still Remains’ signature sound lingers, with the juxtaposition of overdone double-bass drumming, chugging guitars and dancing electronics, but singer T.J. Miller’s swooping vocals sound glossy and passionless and often fail to match the weight of the backing music. Whereas Lunacyexplored some creative sonic territory (including a 90-second instrumental piano track), The Serpent seems to be slithering around in circles, rehashing generic musical exercises and never really managing to sink its fangs into anything worthwhile. (ROADRUNNER) Emily Zemler