Eight years of silence since Eonian, Galder gone, and a comeback few still expected: Grand Serpent Rising lands 81/100 across six reviews. Sputnikmusic rolls out the artillery (4.8/5): « the boys are back, they’re sounding as evil as ever and they’re ready to reclaim the throne as the masters of the symphonic black metal genre » — to them, one of the best albums of the band’s career, reconnecting with the early-2000s era where Abrahadabra and Eonian sounded sterile. Blabbermouth and Distorted Sound follow at 9/10.
Points of agreement: opener « Ascent » as a breakneck rush, « Ulvgjeld & Blodsodel » where everything clicks per Kerrang!, and orchestration finally dosed rather than dumped on top. Shagrath and Silenoz, now sole captains, « threw everything at the wall this time round — and found that most of it sticks ».
The fracture is about length: seventy minutes of « blackened proggery » that turn into overload for Kerrang! (3/5), which demands judicious pruning and winces at the gothic camp of « The Qryptfarer ». AMG stays at 3.5/5, and the public (66/100) shares the fatigue — hence a half-point penalty. Comeback achieved, scissors forgotten.