'PYTHIA (pronounced pie-thee-ya)', it says here "are a group of classical and Metal inspired musicians who believe that the art of music is a hallowed path, only to be undertaken by the strong willed and the dedicated."



What that actually means is Pythia are a standard issue British Heavy Metal Goth outfit with the prerequisite big lunged bird supplying an over wrought operatic lead vocal.

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On saying that, 'The Serpent's Curse' is really very good. When you cut through all the pomp and drama you will find an album of ferocious symphonic and Goth Metal that could make a good soundtrack for an invasion of the armies of darkness as they march across the tabletop of yer local war games emporium.

The one thing it lacks is a killer track. Opener 'Cry Of Our Nation', after a gentle intro kicks in with a big symphonic heavy as fuck drive that promises some serious action and sets the scene for the rest of the album. There are bits that fleetingly grab your attention but there is no one track that demands you press play again; nothing that could set this record apart from the rest of the herd.

The biggest disappointment, however, about 'The Serpent's Curse' is lead vocalist Emily Alice Ovenden. As a member of the number one selling act Mediaeval Baebes, she has strangely omitted to bring any ye olde worlde influences to bear on the album. I say strangely because Pythia seem to have borrowed bits from everywhere else except the one place that could have made a real difference; the traditional heritage of their homelands.

It is a mix that has been proven to work very well and would have lifted this album from the very good to the simply outstanding.

Despite the criticisms though, this album is more than capable of standing on its own two feet and if the dramatic, heavy and pompous Metal of the Wagnerian Gothic is your thing then I think you will find 'The Serpent's Curse' most worthy of your time.

Play loud.

26.1.12