Rifflord – 39 Serpent Power

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · November 19, 2024

Rifflord are a stoner metal band from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The band formed in 2007 and released their latest album on Ripple Music, June 21st 2024. Entitled 39 Serpent Power, this is the band’s third full length album. The current lineup for Rifflord is Wyatt Bronc on bass and vocals, Douglas Jennings Barrett on drums, Tory Jean Stoddard on keys, Samuel Hayes on guitar, and Dustin Vano on guitar. The other two albums are 2015’s 26 Mean And Heavy and 2018’s 7 Cremation Ground/ Meditation. 39 Serpent Power contains eight songs and is 38 minutes long.

Lead off track “Serpent Power” opens the record with a surge. After a minute and a half of clean guitar and lead accents, the song rips into a metal frenzy. Pulverizing rhythms and low raspy-ish vocals are joined with pummeling drums, with fills and all. The soaring guitar leads and metal singing chorus is a fine addition to the song. “Ohm Ripper” flies out of the gate with more scorching guitar leads and relentless riffing. The sound reminds me of Droids Attack with the bulldozing riffing and the no nonsense vocals. The ending riff of this song in particular is cathartic. Rifflord are already living up to their name with this one. The third track “Blessed Life” begins with a deep fuzzy riff that kicks right into the verse. The song has a slower pace than the previous two but delivers a killer groove with great fill in leads too. The band captures the stoner rock vibes with this one and it’s just a great song. “Lm308” is another banger that kicks right into it! The heavy distortion sound is righteous on this track and the down tuned riffs are just excellent. They also add some subtle keyboards in the mix that really gives the song a depth to their overall sound.

The second half of the record starts with “Grim Creeper”, another great tune. The song is a heavy stop start chugging of devastating riffs. It has a haunting overtone to it and sludges forward with raw conviction. “Church Keys” starts with clapping and then a nice guitar lead riff. It builds up with some drum fills and then cranks into a thrashy rhythm. It has a High On Fire style of pummeling but also a nice traditional heavy metal glory to it. the band really has a flow of mixing up their sound to accentuate their music. “Hoof” is yet another example of the brilliance of Rifflord. It begins with a thunderous beating with a classic metallic clamor. The excellent chorus riff is so glorious that it gets underneath the skin and electrifies the whole body.

39 Serpent Power deals with some heavy subject matter. The deep message of the album as described by the band is: “Serpent Power encapsulates the raw visceral energy one gets from their initial love affair with substance abuse and the false freedom and power that eventually turns on the user over time. Just as the snake eats its own tail, this album takes the listener through the journey of excess, self-destruction, self-realization and the long walk out of the hell that is addiction.”

The final song on the album is called “Tumbleweed”. It’s a great song and a suitable closer for a remarkable recording. It encapsulates everything that Rifflord has accomplished thus far from the other tracks. It mixes in the driving metal attack, the heavy rock guitar melodies, flourishing of keys, and the crushing riffs with Wyatt Bronc’s soaring vocals. The song even has some nice flute playing from Tory Jean Stoddard. 39 Serpent Power is a spectacular release of stoner rock doused in heavy metal and set ablaze by Rifflord’s guitar wizardry and riff mastery.