Gothik Serpent - The Examination II (2025) [Hi-Res]

To paraphrase Robert FRIPP, GOTHIK SERPENT is a way of doing things. All music, lyrics and artwork are composed and illustrated by Kerwin TSANG, a musician of seven years who plays bass guitar and Chapman Stick, ensuring that both aural and visual elements of the project have a singular identity. The project's debut release, INTERLOPER, features an album oriented sound that is highly constructed and relies on all instruments working together as a whole. The album was recorded at Bedrock LA in Echo Park, Los Angeles California. Mixing and mastering were handled by Acle KAHNEY, lead guitarist of progressive metal group TESSERACT in Brighton, UK.

Thematically, the album explores the topics of alienation, isolation and impermanence, and when listened to in its entirety presents a narrative in the form of a traveler journeying to a distant promised land whose journey is haunted by dreams of a nightmarish, dystopian future; dreams that underly the traveler's own insecurities and anxieties over this unknown destination.

GOTHIK SERPENT's sole songwriter, Kerwin TSANG, has been a musician for seven years and was formerly the bass guitarist and assistant songwriter of hip-hop group HONOR FLOW PRODUCTIONS, and has headlined shows at prestigious Los Angeles venues such as The Roxy, The Whisky and The Troubadour. He departed the group after five years in 2013 to focus on his Master's Degree at USC.

The roots of GOTHIK SERPENT began during this period, when TSANG began toying with the idea of an instrumental solo album played entirely by him. However, as the writing process evolved, the sound of the project grew more ambitious, and eventually a full lineup of musicians became necessary. Some remnants of the initial writing stages remain in the album, and this is particularly noticable with the tracks 'Interceptor' and 'K Terminal', which employ unusual configurations of instruments such as multiple bass guitars and the Chapman Stick.

GOTHIK SERPENT's unconventional and highly layered sound takes inspiration from a wide spectrum of artists such as PORCUPINE TREE, RUSH, KING CRIMSON, KARNIVOOL, RADIOHEAD, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, EVERYTHING EVERYTHING, FRANK KLEPACKI, ABBA, NINE INCH NAILS, and ARETHA FRANKLIN.