{"id":230604,"date":"2026-02-12T13:09:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T12:09:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.angrymetalguy.com\/?p=230604"},"modified":"2026-02-12T13:09:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T12:09:15","slug":"swords-of-dis-serpent-ascending-oros-kau-midnight-odyssey-from-the-waters-of-death-a-retelling-of-the-epic-of-gilgamesh-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.angrymetalguy.com\/swords-of-dis-serpent-ascending-oros-kau-midnight-odyssey-from-the-waters-of-death-a-retelling-of-the-epic-of-gilgamesh-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Swords of Dis, Serpent Ascending, \u00d4ros Ka\u00f9, Midnight Odyssey – From the Waters of Death – A retelling of the Epic of Gilgamesh Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"In case you’re unfamiliar, The Epic of Gilgamesh<\/em> is an ancient Mesopotamian poetic narrative, whose first complete form is dated to approximately 1800 BCE. It follows a story of King Gilgamesh and his dealings with gods and other mythic monsters, culminating in a journey for the secret of immortality.1<\/a><\/sup> What better way could there be to consume this rich, literary epic than have it interpreted by the collection of artists behind From the Waters of Death<\/em>? Obscure black\/doom duo Swords of Dis<\/strong>; death metal veteran and experimenter Serpent Ascending<\/strong>; Neptunian Maximalism<\/strong>’s darker, heavier incarnation \u00d4ros Ka\u00f9<\/strong>; and ambient-black dreamer Midnight Odyssey<\/strong>. All are infamous\u2014if you know who they are\u2014for their strange, unconventional styles and love for long-form expression that borders on the self-indulgent, which may make them ideally suited to a Gilgamesh <\/em>retelling. You may already be experiencing a sinking feeling of dread at those name-drops. But together these artists achieve something that exceeded my expectations even as it met them squarely.<\/p>\n

While appearing to be a split, Waters <\/em>is more of a collaboration as each individual contributes vocal or instrumental talents across multiple songs, including on those they wrote and take the lead in themselves. Spearheading the whole thing are Richard and Alice Corvinus of Swords of Dis<\/strong>, who have a hand in all lyrics and appear on every track. These lyrics, inspired by the words of the epic itself, consist of narration interspersed with dialogue between the various characters, and the five musicians rotate and share roles depending on who is involved in the corresponding part of the story. 2<\/a><\/sup> This improves the album’s internal coherence\u2014which might otherwise be hindered in a split format\u2014whilst also allowing each movement to take on the personality of its lead artist. As a form of adaptation, the five tracks of reverb-filled, noisy, strange, melodramatically or demoniacally vocally-led, black-adjacent fringe metal lean into the grand, frightening side to the tale whose gravity us modern-age folk probably can’t appreciate properly. And it’s that excessive, almost absurd commitment to being different, which\u2014and I can’t believe I’m saying this\u2014actually works.<\/p>\n