Dutch Black Metal outfit Serotonin return with their fourth studio offering, Motiv, a seven-track, thirty-six-minute offering that is once again delivered with their refreshing, somewhat avant-garde approach to the genre. Soundwise and lyrically, Serotonin continue to think outside of the expected constraints, this time finding lyrical inspiration in disturbing and thought-provoking stories.
Serotonin – Motiv (Narcoleptica Productions)
Release Date: 2 September 2024
Words: Jools Green
Climbing The Colossus opens, a punchy, dark and catchy beast of a track that makes you want to hear more. The song is inspired by the imposing structure of the Sancarlone, a vast copper statue which gazes down upon Lake Maggiore in Italy, dedicated to the cult of St. Charles, Charles Borromeo, former cardinal and archbishop of Milan.
Next up is Sinner Box, which compares the callous experiments of the operant conditioning chamber with man’s endless, mindless pursuit of wealth, delivering dark, spiralling and sinister tones that are hypnotic and powerful.
Garrote In D is a resistant refusal to bend the knee, to conform or obey. A punchy chugger to open that is darkly defiant with a superb undercurrent of cold black riffs and deep sinister vocalisations alongside more melodic reflective elements, balancing to create a superbly powerful piece.
The next piece, Kanishibari, refers to the Japanese term for sleep paralysis, where REM sleep overlaps with waking consciousness. The victim’s body is still paralysed in sleep, but the eyes are open, the mind is half-awake and the real and dream worlds mix together. A superbly eerie piece that is as unnerving as it is punchy. The superbly protracted deep vocals add an all-important unnerving quality. You get quieter ebbs between more driving swathes, and you can sense in the music the struggle and confusion that condition must cause.
Much of Serotonin’s past work has been inspired by the medical and scientific world, as is the next piece, Glioma Psychedelica, a glioma being a type of primary tumour that starts in the glial cells of the brain or spinal cord, sometimes causing hallucinations. It is a track that is somewhat avant-garde in its construct, delivering waves of spiralling repeating riffing with an interesting percussive undercurrent. The pace ebbs and builds between a blackened punchy drive and haunting melodic swathes where the deep guttural vocals make their maximum impact.
Motiv continues with the scientific. The next piece, Spike Wave Discharge, is inspired by a pattern of the electroencephalogram (EEG) typically observed during an epileptic seizure. Almost doomy in its crushing nature, this is a very dark, powerful, punchy piece with the vocals delivering screams as well as the lower end. Again, there is a very discordant and avant-garde element midway through, even more so in this piece. Deranged vocals and unusual timings give this track a unique and standout quality.
Final piece, Leidmotiv, delivers warnings against complacency in the face of insidious political evil. Opening on eerie leadwork that develops in sharp layers alongside contrasting deep doom like gutturals, this is swiftly followed by driving black riffs that build in pace with an engaging undulation of pace across its duration. , beneath those vocals. There is also a melodic, reflective undercurrent and almost folk-like vocal element. I love the richly layered construction of this piece, a superb closing piece.
Motiv is a superb listen that is well-constructed and well-delivered end to end. A hugely thought-provoking album.
