Review by Felix on April 19, 2021.

In the past, when you asked your grandfather for old stories, you usually heard something about the war. That wasn't nice, but it was somehow exciting. You couldn't even imagine that there had once been a war… If I ever have grandchildren and they ask me about the past, what should I say? “Impaled Nazarene used to make good records.” Oh, my grandchildren will think, not nice, not very exciting either. And they won't be able to imagine it.

Impaled Nazarene have always wished for nuclear war in previous interviews. Maybe they should have done a test run in their rehearsal room. We would have been spared Eight Headed Serpent if they had simply disappeared into their own nuclear cloud. Not to mention all the other albums since 1994, which never again even remotely reached the level of Ugra-Karma. Since this milestone split skulls almost perfectly, there is of course a lot of room for deterioration and the fact that full-length number 13 can't compete with it doesn't mean it has to be a total flop. But the disc is not good either.

Roughly, the record can be broken down into three parts. Starting from the back, part 1 consists of the last track, a dreary number that exceeds the 5-minute mark as an end in itself to stretch the material to over half an hour. Before that is part 2, which consists of nothing but wild bludgeoning. Finally, part 3 consists only of the infantile intro. But probably there is a high quality artistic note behind "oral sex demons" screams, which unfortunately remains hidden from a dumbass like me.

I beg your pardon? Yes, you're right, I went over part 2 of the record a bit very quickly. Wild bludgeoning is actually not a bad thing. The problem is that Impaled Nazarene are not able to enrich it with grandiose riffs or lines. They also don't know what they want to play. 'The Nonconformists' sounds like speed metal with a bad singer and 'Human Cesspool' is driven by a punky bass line, while other tracks offer a crude, often uninspired mix of black, thrash and hardcore. 'Shock And Awe' has something similar to a good guitar melody, but this line evaporates within two seconds after the song ends. But back to the big picture. The uniformity, the simplicity and the unimaginativeness of the compositions from number one to number thirteen break the album's neck. I admit that 'Metastasizing And Changing Threat' is well done, because besides comprehensible guitar runs, there are also beginnings of an atmosphere, without the hardness level being reduced for that.

But it's all too little, too late. With their concentrated clumsiness and pseudo-provocative behaviour, Impaled Nazarene will have a hard time inspiring many people for their music. Or will they succeed after all? Maybe Eight Headed Serpent is simply a polarising masterpiece and I'm just at the wrong end of the scale. In any case, I don't like much here, not even the lumpy production, which underlines the monotony of the material. At least one can respect that the Finns do not move (again) towards commercialism with this release. But that would also have been a betrayal of the idea of nuclear war.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10

Review by Michael on April 15, 2021.

Impaled Nazarene are back! After seven years they managed to record once again a new studio album called Eight Headed Serpent. That's what I call a pretty long creative break - let's see if the long wait was worth it, because I must honestly say that the last albums couldn't convince me 100% due to their relative monotony.

First of all, let's take a look at the external features, i.e. the cover. Here you can find the typical trademarks of the band, gas masks and the nuclear symbol. In the gas masks there are dried up goat heads, very stylish. Also the lettering of the band has not changed, so far you can conclude that nothing has changed here. Good! By the way, the cover was designed by Ritual, who was also responsible for other artwork of the band (e.g. Pro Patria Finlandia).

Musically, we start with 'Goat Of Mendes' with Monika Lewinsky memories from the White House or something like that and then the party starts. High-speed thumping, as we are used to from the last albums, there is no moment to pause, only in the last third of the song the track becomes a bit catchier. The title track sounds a little less bulky, although it is jammed through with full speed, but the melodies are more recognizable and I personally find the bassline pretty cool. 'Shock And Awe' reminds me of the bass of old Sodom in the style of "Never Healing Wound". 'The Nonconformists' and 'Octagon Order' are the first real surprise on the album, the songs sound like old albums á la Latex Cult. Very punky and very casual the whole thing! 'Debauchery And Decay' brings back memories of Tol Cormpt Norz Norz Norz times through Mika's screams at the beginning, then a riff is brought out that could have been on 'Absence Of War Does Not Mean Peace'. Oh and there is a Celtic Frost-Ugh too!!! In the further course songs from the different creative periods of the band mix. Another song that stands out is 'Triumphant Return Of The Antichrist', here memories of 'Soul Rape' are awakened when Mika roars the chorus. Another trip far into the past is 'Unholy Necromancy', where even deeper demonic grunting is presented.

As a conclusion the band drifts into epic doom realms and presents us with 'Foucault Pendulum' one of the slowest songs the band has ever written besides 'Quasb / The Burning'. Regarding the production, the band presents (as on their previous works) an extremely powerful and well-produced album. Thumbs up for this.

It remains to be said that Impaled Nazarene, in my opinion, have found their way back to their old strength by skillfully combining old stylistic elements with newer song structures. I think that with Eight Headed Serpent they can also convince many fans who can not do so much with the newer albums. Horns up for the new album, let's hope we can see Impaled Nazarene on tour soon!!! 

Rating: 9.5 dried goat heads of 10

Review by Felix on April 19, 2021.

In the past, when you asked your grandfather for old stories, you usually heard something about the war. That wasn't nice, but it was somehow exciting. You couldn't even imagine that there had once been a war… If I ever have grandchildren and they ask me about the past, what should I say? “Impaled Nazarene used to make good records.” Oh, my grandchildren will think, not nice, not very exciting either. And they won't be able to imagine it.

Impaled Nazarene have always wished for nuclear war in previous interviews. Maybe they should have done a test run in their rehearsal room. We would have been spared Eight Headed Serpent if they had simply disappeared into their own nuclear cloud. Not to mention all the other albums since 1994, which never again even remotely reached the level of Ugra-Karma. Since this milestone split skulls almost perfectly, there is of course a lot of room for deterioration and the fact that full-length number 13 can't compete with it doesn't mean it has to be a total flop. But the disc is not good either.

Roughly, the record can be broken down into three parts. Starting from the back, part 1 consists of the last track, a dreary number that exceeds the 5-minute mark as an end in itself to stretch the material to over half an hour. Before that is part 2, which consists of nothing but wild bludgeoning. Finally, part 3 consists only of the infantile intro. But probably there is a high quality artistic note behind "oral sex demons" screams, which unfortunately remains hidden from a dumbass like me.

I beg your pardon? Yes, you're right, I went over part 2 of the record a bit very quickly. Wild bludgeoning is actually not a bad thing. The problem is that Impaled Nazarene are not able to enrich it with grandiose riffs or lines. They also don't know what they want to play. 'The Nonconformists' sounds like speed metal with a bad singer and 'Human Cesspool' is driven by a punky bass line, while other tracks offer a crude, often uninspired mix of black, thrash and hardcore. 'Shock And Awe' has something similar to a good guitar melody, but this line evaporates within two seconds after the song ends. But back to the big picture. The uniformity, the simplicity and the unimaginativeness of the compositions from number one to number thirteen break the album's neck. I admit that 'Metastasizing And Changing Threat' is well done, because besides comprehensible guitar runs, there are also beginnings of an atmosphere, without the hardness level being reduced for that.

But it's all too little, too late. With their concentrated clumsiness and pseudo-provocative behaviour, Impaled Nazarene will have a hard time inspiring many people for their music. Or will they succeed after all? Maybe Eight Headed Serpent is simply a polarising masterpiece and I'm just at the wrong end of the scale. In any case, I don't like much here, not even the lumpy production, which underlines the monotony of the material. At least one can respect that the Finns do not move (again) towards commercialism with this release. But that would also have been a betrayal of the idea of nuclear war.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10

Review by Michael on April 15, 2021.

Impaled Nazarene are back! After seven years they managed to record once again a new studio album called Eight Headed Serpent. That's what I call a pretty long creative break - let's see if the long wait was worth it, because I must honestly say that the last albums couldn't convince me 100% due to their relative monotony.

First of all, let's take a look at the external features, i.e. the cover. Here you can find the typical trademarks of the band, gas masks and the nuclear symbol. In the gas masks there are dried up goat heads, very stylish. Also the lettering of the band has not changed, so far you can conclude that nothing has changed here. Good! By the way, the cover was designed by Ritual, who was also responsible for other artwork of the band (e.g. Pro Patria Finlandia).

Musically, we start with 'Goat Of Mendes' with Monika Lewinsky memories from the White House or something like that and then the party starts. High-speed thumping, as we are used to from the last albums, there is no moment to pause, only in the last third of the song the track becomes a bit catchier. The title track sounds a little less bulky, although it is jammed through with full speed, but the melodies are more recognizable and I personally find the bassline pretty cool. 'Shock And Awe' reminds me of the bass of old Sodom in the style of "Never Healing Wound". 'The Nonconformists' and 'Octagon Order' are the first real surprise on the album, the songs sound like old albums á la Latex Cult. Very punky and very casual the whole thing! 'Debauchery And Decay' brings back memories of Tol Cormpt Norz Norz Norz times through Mika's screams at the beginning, then a riff is brought out that could have been on 'Absence Of War Does Not Mean Peace'. Oh and there is a Celtic Frost-Ugh too!!! In the further course songs from the different creative periods of the band mix. Another song that stands out is 'Triumphant Return Of The Antichrist', here memories of 'Soul Rape' are awakened when Mika roars the chorus. Another trip far into the past is 'Unholy Necromancy', where even deeper demonic grunting is presented.

As a conclusion the band drifts into epic doom realms and presents us with 'Foucault Pendulum' one of the slowest songs the band has ever written besides 'Quasb / The Burning'. Regarding the production, the band presents (as on their previous works) an extremely powerful and well-produced album. Thumbs up for this.

It remains to be said that Impaled Nazarene, in my opinion, have found their way back to their old strength by skillfully combining old stylistic elements with newer song structures. I think that with Eight Headed Serpent they can also convince many fans who can not do so much with the newer albums. Horns up for the new album, let's hope we can see Impaled Nazarene on tour soon!!! 

Rating: 9.5 dried goat heads of 10

Review by Felix on April 19, 2021.

In the past, when you asked your grandfather for old stories, you usually heard something about the war. That wasn't nice, but it was somehow exciting. You couldn't even imagine that there had once been a war… If I ever have grandchildren and they ask me about the past, what should I say? “Impaled Nazarene used to make good records.” Oh, my grandchildren will think, not nice, not very exciting either. And they won't be able to imagine it.

Impaled Nazarene have always wished for nuclear war in previous interviews. Maybe they should have done a test run in their rehearsal room. We would have been spared Eight Headed Serpent if they had simply disappeared into their own nuclear cloud. Not to mention all the other albums since 1994, which never again even remotely reached the level of Ugra-Karma. Since this milestone split skulls almost perfectly, there is of course a lot of room for deterioration and the fact that full-length number 13 can't compete with it doesn't mean it has to be a total flop. But the disc is not good either.

Roughly, the record can be broken down into three parts. Starting from the back, part 1 consists of the last track, a dreary number that exceeds the 5-minute mark as an end in itself to stretch the material to over half an hour. Before that is part 2, which consists of nothing but wild bludgeoning. Finally, part 3 consists only of the infantile intro. But probably there is a high quality artistic note behind "oral sex demons" screams, which unfortunately remains hidden from a dumbass like me.

I beg your pardon? Yes, you're right, I went over part 2 of the record a bit very quickly. Wild bludgeoning is actually not a bad thing. The problem is that Impaled Nazarene are not able to enrich it with grandiose riffs or lines. They also don't know what they want to play. 'The Nonconformists' sounds like speed metal with a bad singer and 'Human Cesspool' is driven by a punky bass line, while other tracks offer a crude, often uninspired mix of black, thrash and hardcore. 'Shock And Awe' has something similar to a good guitar melody, but this line evaporates within two seconds after the song ends. But back to the big picture. The uniformity, the simplicity and the unimaginativeness of the compositions from number one to number thirteen break the album's neck. I admit that 'Metastasizing And Changing Threat' is well done, because besides comprehensible guitar runs, there are also beginnings of an atmosphere, without the hardness level being reduced for that.

But it's all too little, too late. With their concentrated clumsiness and pseudo-provocative behaviour, Impaled Nazarene will have a hard time inspiring many people for their music. Or will they succeed after all? Maybe Eight Headed Serpent is simply a polarising masterpiece and I'm just at the wrong end of the scale. In any case, I don't like much here, not even the lumpy production, which underlines the monotony of the material. At least one can respect that the Finns do not move (again) towards commercialism with this release. But that would also have been a betrayal of the idea of nuclear war.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10

Review by Michael on April 15, 2021.

Impaled Nazarene are back! After seven years they managed to record once again a new studio album called Eight Headed Serpent. That's what I call a pretty long creative break - let's see if the long wait was worth it, because I must honestly say that the last albums couldn't convince me 100% due to their relative monotony.

First of all, let's take a look at the external features, i.e. the cover. Here you can find the typical trademarks of the band, gas masks and the nuclear symbol. In the gas masks there are dried up goat heads, very stylish. Also the lettering of the band has not changed, so far you can conclude that nothing has changed here. Good! By the way, the cover was designed by Ritual, who was also responsible for other artwork of the band (e.g. Pro Patria Finlandia).

Musically, we start with 'Goat Of Mendes' with Monika Lewinsky memories from the White House or something like that and then the party starts. High-speed thumping, as we are used to from the last albums, there is no moment to pause, only in the last third of the song the track becomes a bit catchier. The title track sounds a little less bulky, although it is jammed through with full speed, but the melodies are more recognizable and I personally find the bassline pretty cool. 'Shock And Awe' reminds me of the bass of old Sodom in the style of "Never Healing Wound". 'The Nonconformists' and 'Octagon Order' are the first real surprise on the album, the songs sound like old albums á la Latex Cult. Very punky and very casual the whole thing! 'Debauchery And Decay' brings back memories of Tol Cormpt Norz Norz Norz times through Mika's screams at the beginning, then a riff is brought out that could have been on 'Absence Of War Does Not Mean Peace'. Oh and there is a Celtic Frost-Ugh too!!! In the further course songs from the different creative periods of the band mix. Another song that stands out is 'Triumphant Return Of The Antichrist', here memories of 'Soul Rape' are awakened when Mika roars the chorus. Another trip far into the past is 'Unholy Necromancy', where even deeper demonic grunting is presented.

As a conclusion the band drifts into epic doom realms and presents us with 'Foucault Pendulum' one of the slowest songs the band has ever written besides 'Quasb / The Burning'. Regarding the production, the band presents (as on their previous works) an extremely powerful and well-produced album. Thumbs up for this.

It remains to be said that Impaled Nazarene, in my opinion, have found their way back to their old strength by skillfully combining old stylistic elements with newer song structures. I think that with Eight Headed Serpent they can also convince many fans who can not do so much with the newer albums. Horns up for the new album, let's hope we can see Impaled Nazarene on tour soon!!! 

Rating: 9.5 dried goat heads of 10

Review by Adam M on August 17, 2025.

This is an excellent album that further pushed what was established on Morningrise in further interesting directions.  It is perhaps heavier than said album which is a progression and features a number of memorable songs like “April Ethereal” and “Demon of the Fall”.  It is an atmospheric treasure that is very dynamic, yet still very listenable.

The musicianship on the album is stellar with great guitars and very heavy drumming to make for a powerful experience.  There is a well-rounded experience to be found here with a nice usage of atmosphere to make things more poignant.  This results in a listenable album that is very effective and powerful.  The singing by Akerfeldt is as good as ever and he puts on a remarkably strong performance here.

The flaw to the album is that it sort of transitions between Morningrise and Still Life and doesn’t contain the raw energy of the former or the streamlined feel of the latter.  This means it is forgotten often, but should not be because it is an outstanding and marvelous album.  Fans of those two albums in particular will find a lot to like here.

All in all, this was a strong album that has the right amount of variety to make it interesting and has strong staying power.  Fans of Opeth will feel right at home here as the work delivers power and beauty in equal measures.  It is a strong album and one that will be remembered for ages

Rating: 8.3/10

Review by Death8699 on February 16, 2019.

What diversity in metal, these guys used to play some great progressive music in this genre. A shame that they are no longer considered to be within the "metal" community, they've retired from it. Only 3 musicians on this one with a guest organist. Dark, decayed aura, but such beautiful reverence in the metal world. Songs on here just are so magnificently played without any noticeable flaws and such diversity in the musical and creative aspects. Maybe just 3 members here, but they sure do deliver great epic tracks. 

The riffs are all over the place as are the tempos. Thick, heavy, brutal guitar then you get a break and there's an acoustic piece that delivers, lightening up the song overtures. Wow, I still am amazed on how well metal can be played with such melody. Guitars that are plain destructive in tone followed by throat that's low and bellowed. Then again, after this, there are clean vocals. The majority of the time Mikael sings in a death metal tonality, but he still can sing in a clean tone as well. Magnificent overtures and memorable songs that are quite innovative plus they're quite unique.

Acoustic guitars fluctuate on and off and some of the tracks have an overflow of this kind of guitar work, but most of the time it's distorted guitar work. The music contains melodies that stick in your mind gathering such an immense orchestra of metal. If you're a melodic death freak like I am, you'll love this one. Such great compositions that are totally original and can never be overplayed. Tempos are slow for the most part, especially during songs that are filled with acoustic guitars. They mix the tempos quite rapidly. Extreme progressive metal fits the genre quite beautifully. The topics that the band sings about include love, loss, sorrow, nature, death and occultism. As you can see, the diversity is not only with the music, but the lyrics as well. It's hard to decipher what Mikael is saying on each song. However, that doesn't mean that his efforts aren't without esteem. Songs are so much magnificently orchestrated. You won't find a better extreme progressive metal album like My Arms, Your Hearse.

The production sound for this time when technology wasn't making instruments and voice sound too "perfect". These guys actually have talent and the music is what fuels the soul of this album. All instruments are all in the proper mixing with nothing left out, not even the bass guitar. The metal just flowed on this release and it remains to be my favorite out of their entire discography. It's too bad that they are now no longer a metal band, they're progressive rock. There's 2 bonus tracks on here one cover song and an additional track entitled "Remember Tomorrow."

There is no other album like this in Opeth's discography. That is my opinion though, others can argue it and I come to the same conclusion: their best metal effort ever. No boredom, no lack of innovation, no melodic guitar that is unimpressive. This album is just something that you can easily get into if you like this genre of music. Don't expect anything but pure melodies some heavy some acoustic like I've described. A monumental masterpiece, My Arms, Your Hearse is just too perfect and never played out. If you don't own this one, pick it up and form your own opinion of it. If you're expecting utter brutality, there's shades of it, but not entirely.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Review by Adam on March 19, 2001.

I am! and with Opeth you can never seem to go wrong. This time the band offers us a concept album where the lyrics take the form of a ghost story and the music was made around those lyrics. The lyrics are brilliant and the music is brilliant. How could you expect anything less from this band?

Again Mikael and his expert panel of musicians both soothe you and brutalize you all in the same record and most of the time in the same song! They have the uncanny ability to write long and epic songs and keep them interesting the whole way through. This album is a little more death oriented than Morningrise, but there are no complaints here. Mikael's clean vocals are still intact whereas his screams become a little bit more sinister in their devilery. The album was produced at the now infamous Fredman Studios by now infamous producer Fredrick Nordstrom, and remains a classic that every metal fan should have in their collection.

Bottom Line: If you don't like this then you don't like metal!

Rating: 10 out of 10

Review by Adam M on August 17, 2025.

This is an excellent album that further pushed what was established on Morningrise in further interesting directions.  It is perhaps heavier than said album which is a progression and features a number of memorable songs like “April Ethereal” and “Demon of the Fall”.  It is an atmospheric treasure that is very dynamic, yet still very listenable.

The musicianship on the album is stellar with great guitars and very heavy drumming to make for a powerful experience.  There is a well-rounded experience to be found here with a nice usage of atmosphere to make things more poignant.  This results in a listenable album that is very effective and powerful.  The singing by Akerfeldt is as good as ever and he puts on a remarkably strong performance here.

The flaw to the album is that it sort of transitions between Morningrise and Still Life and doesn’t contain the raw energy of the former or the streamlined feel of the latter.  This means it is forgotten often, but should not be because it is an outstanding and marvelous album.  Fans of those two albums in particular will find a lot to like here.

All in all, this was a strong album that has the right amount of variety to make it interesting and has strong staying power.  Fans of Opeth will feel right at home here as the work delivers power and beauty in equal measures.  It is a strong album and one that will be remembered for ages

Rating: 8.3/10

Review by Death8699 on February 16, 2019.

What diversity in metal, these guys used to play some great progressive music in this genre. A shame that they are no longer considered to be within the "metal" community, they've retired from it. Only 3 musicians on this one with a guest organist. Dark, decayed aura, but such beautiful reverence in the metal world. Songs on here just are so magnificently played without any noticeable flaws and such diversity in the musical and creative aspects. Maybe just 3 members here, but they sure do deliver great epic tracks. 

The riffs are all over the place as are the tempos. Thick, heavy, brutal guitar then you get a break and there's an acoustic piece that delivers, lightening up the song overtures. Wow, I still am amazed on how well metal can be played with such melody. Guitars that are plain destructive in tone followed by throat that's low and bellowed. Then again, after this, there are clean vocals. The majority of the time Mikael sings in a death metal tonality, but he still can sing in a clean tone as well. Magnificent overtures and memorable songs that are quite innovative plus they're quite unique.

Acoustic guitars fluctuate on and off and some of the tracks have an overflow of this kind of guitar work, but most of the time it's distorted guitar work. The music contains melodies that stick in your mind gathering such an immense orchestra of metal. If you're a melodic death freak like I am, you'll love this one. Such great compositions that are totally original and can never be overplayed. Tempos are slow for the most part, especially during songs that are filled with acoustic guitars. They mix the tempos quite rapidly. Extreme progressive metal fits the genre quite beautifully. The topics that the band sings about include love, loss, sorrow, nature, death and occultism. As you can see, the diversity is not only with the music, but the lyrics as well. It's hard to decipher what Mikael is saying on each song. However, that doesn't mean that his efforts aren't without esteem. Songs are so much magnificently orchestrated. You won't find a better extreme progressive metal album like My Arms, Your Hearse.

The production sound for this time when technology wasn't making instruments and voice sound too "perfect". These guys actually have talent and the music is what fuels the soul of this album. All instruments are all in the proper mixing with nothing left out, not even the bass guitar. The metal just flowed on this release and it remains to be my favorite out of their entire discography. It's too bad that they are now no longer a metal band, they're progressive rock. There's 2 bonus tracks on here one cover song and an additional track entitled "Remember Tomorrow."

There is no other album like this in Opeth's discography. That is my opinion though, others can argue it and I come to the same conclusion: their best metal effort ever. No boredom, no lack of innovation, no melodic guitar that is unimpressive. This album is just something that you can easily get into if you like this genre of music. Don't expect anything but pure melodies some heavy some acoustic like I've described. A monumental masterpiece, My Arms, Your Hearse is just too perfect and never played out. If you don't own this one, pick it up and form your own opinion of it. If you're expecting utter brutality, there's shades of it, but not entirely.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Review by Adam on March 19, 2001.

I am! and with Opeth you can never seem to go wrong. This time the band offers us a concept album where the lyrics take the form of a ghost story and the music was made around those lyrics. The lyrics are brilliant and the music is brilliant. How could you expect anything less from this band?

Again Mikael and his expert panel of musicians both soothe you and brutalize you all in the same record and most of the time in the same song! They have the uncanny ability to write long and epic songs and keep them interesting the whole way through. This album is a little more death oriented than Morningrise, but there are no complaints here. Mikael's clean vocals are still intact whereas his screams become a little bit more sinister in their devilery. The album was produced at the now infamous Fredman Studios by now infamous producer Fredrick Nordstrom, and remains a classic that every metal fan should have in their collection.

Bottom Line: If you don't like this then you don't like metal!

Rating: 10 out of 10