The Curse - Come Forth (Imperium Productions - 2017)

After Morbid Angel effectively turned into utter crap, The Curse from Sweden steps in to fill the void of blasphemous death metal played with immaculate precision. "Come Forth" is a  debut EP featuring seasoned veterans from the scene and members from other prominent bands, and sounds accordingly.

 

My interest was peaked regarding this band as soon as it was announced and I became aware that it featured members from Swedish Kaamos (RIP) when they were to open up for Hypocrisy at a show in Stockholm. That was 2013 and two years later, in late 2015 they released their first EP in digital form and now in 2017 it is finally also available in vinyl format through Imperium Productions.

 

Ominous chanting starts of the opening track "Morbid Mass" and just before you are about to release a deep sigh over another "spooky intro" to a metal album The Curse blasts you with a relentless onslaught of double kicks and tremolo guitar work. The song continues in similar fashion, with Karl Envall's voice sounding familiar from his days in Kaamos. His growls have never been one of those that I consider the best within the genre, but it has to be said that they feel very honest. Very little reverb and compression is used on them (compression is a death metal vocalists best friend in the studio) and what you hear in here is what he also delivers at live shows. The track alternates between heavy interludes and the aforementioned fast parts before moving into a more atmospheric part in the middle with marching snares and guitars with a lot of effects on them. Karl bellows about "fire and brimstone" and other appropriate themes while we move into the final chorus.

 

Next up the title track "Come Forth" which wastes no time and moves directly into the chorus. Here there is no mistake about the Morbid Angel influences, with dissonant chords quickly swirling over the neck of the guitars while drummer Victor Parri tries his best to pound his kit into dust. Victor seems to be playing in almost every band from Sweden right now, dealing in everything from doom- death- and black metal, and he really shines here. I assume that even Pete "The Feet" Sandoval would be in awe of this performance. The Curse are good at changing things up and becoming an endless blastbeat orgy, just don't expect any experimental interludes, but a lot of breaks, shifts in tempo and chord-styles to keep things fresh and interesting.

 

The title track fades out before the drums kick off "Azazel", a mid-tempo number who initially draws the mind to the likes of Bolt Thrower or Asphyx before becoming a complete thrash-fest in the verses. This track has a captivating groove to is and the chorus will get you hooked immediately (if you don't have an odd aversion to catchy death metal). The drums that introduce the song are a bit obviously triggered when singled out like that, and if I had engineered the album I would have removed the trigger for just that part, but altogether the sound is fine and I won't be a stickler about triggered drums in this type of death metal. I'll merrily scream "Azazeeel!" along with the track until the needle finally has grinded away the grooves on my LP.

 

"Of Darkness Born" offers up several different types of blastbeats in shorter time than most bands do in a lifetime, something that more bands "of the blasting kind" should try out instead of continuously sticking to the classic grind every time. It offers up some needed variety as I find that tracks with an endless grind throughout it are a complete bore. This track keeps a high pulse throughout without going for a heavy interlude in the middle and barely reaches over the three minute mark before finishing off.

 

If the previous track was the most intense on this EP "INRI Stigma" is the most laid back, and I am using this term very loosely here. Laid back in the terms of The Curse is still more energetic than most. Here we get the only proper guitar solo within these tracks, and while it is nothing completely mind-blowing I would gladly welcome more as the band seems to have two capable lead guitarists in Fredrik Hernborg and Nicklas Eriksson. And yes, they each play a solo back-to-back in this track, as a band should when having two guitarists. This is a very heavy track with the occasional bursts of hyper-aggression who also doesn't go on for barely more than three minutes.

 

My favorite track on the EP is "Ancient Curses", even if it serves up the "spooky intro" that we nearly avoided in the opener, luckily it doesn't drag along for more than ten seconds here either. A phased guitar introduces the main riff before we are completely carpet-bombed by the full power of The Curse, if this doesn't get your neck moving you must not have one. The band takes a short break to scream the title of the track from the top of their lungs, only to repeat the whole process again immediately afterwards. Meaning that we get to hear this fantastic riff start off with a "Uh!" two times before the intro is over, absolutely fantastic. The verses are very atmospheric and dark, and if you thought the chorus to "Azazel" was catchy you're in for a ride here. This track has been on constant repeat in my head more times than I would care to admit, and not due to being trivially simple, but due to being of utmost quality. A riff heavy as any leads out of the track, as well as the EP in whole, as The Curse gradually slows down in the final measures and the final sound we hear is a stone slab shutting the lid of an ancient tomb.

 

As stated earlier I won't rag on triggered kicks here as it is as much part of the genre as distorted guitars at this point, and Parri's drumming is nothing else than commendable. The mix is fine, with a nasty guitar tone that fits the mood and a honest vocal performance. I could go for having the bass louder in the overall mix, but since Karl handles both vocals and bass duties at the same time I have a hunch that there isn't a lot of flashy bass tricks going on that we are being robber of behind the wall of sound.

 

Verdict:

"Come Forth" is a high quality offering throughout and absolutely ends with a bang, and the strong choruses from the time of Kaamos has not gone MIA since their heyday. As one can demand form musicians of this caliber, the EP leaves little to want even after a careful examination. Since it was initially released in 2015 I really hope that they have something more to offer soon. Until then "Ancient Curses" will probably keep me going for some more time yet. "Come Forth" emerges from its tomb with: 7,9/10

 

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Crawl - Worship Death (Bloodsoaked Records - 2016)

Crawl delivers crust punk infused death metal and as fit doesn't worry for a second about sounding pretty or polished. "Worship Death" is a fittingly titled EP released by Bloodsoaked Records which offers varied material and displays all of the bands sides within the three tracks it contains.

 

"Worship Death" was released as a 7-inch vinyl in a limited run of 500 copies, of which I snagged myself one rather immediately. The package was of high quality and included a large embroidered patch featuring the cover art. Clocking in at just barely over ten minutes, and me being unfamiliar with their first demo release, I was expecting something along the lines of short, blastbeat-ridden numbers, and not much more. Crawl does however have more tricks up their sleeve.

When the needle of my turntable hits the spinning 7-inch Crawl lays down the law before I've even managed to take a seat in my designated listening chair. Vocalist Joakim Mikiver barks out a classic "Uh!" as  perfectly crunchy guitars, topped of on HM2-steriods, rings out in frenzied feedback noise. Mid-paced and catchy death metal marches out of the speakers, all very tightly held together by the stable beat of Ämir Batar's drums, but in no way polished or prettied-up. In fact the whole soundscape has a garage-like aura, which fits the music just perfectly. The chorus in the opener "Altar" makes you want to down fifteen cans of Swedish folköl, in true punk fashion, and bellow along as Joakim shouts "the bodies reek of death, fucked by the altar".

The track seamlessly rings into the following "Drenched" which surprisingly opens with a riff you wouldn't be shocked to find on the next album by Sleep or Electric Wizard, this infused with Crawl's already mentioned sound makes the mind wander to the likes of Autopsy. It doesn't take the long for the band to dive back into the realms of death metal and crust punk again though. This alteration continues throughout the whole track, keeping the listener on his or her toes. I don't know if Joakim is the sole person responsible for the vocals or the high-pitched screams thrown in between his low grunts are backup vocals lain down by guitarist Martin Sjögren or bass player Adam Andersson, if so they are not credited. They are frequently used in all tracks though, and contributes to a lot of Crawl's attitude.

A riff heavy as anything you could imagine leads into the final track "Endless Grave", which has more drive to it than the previous song with it's chugging guitars. The verses here are a bit thrashier and lead nicely into the heavier sections of the track, and man are they heavy. Crawl manages to keep the tracks short and effective even when trudging forward in a somewhat leisurely tempo, in fact no track here reaches four minutes, and some little more than three.

Verdict:
"Worship Death" leaves me hungry for more, and is a good exhibition of what Crawl has to offer. The humble playing time is not an issue as the songs are varied enough to warrant a couple of listens in a row before moving on. Since the release of the EP Joakim and Adam has left the band and they have instead been joined by Joachim Lyngfelt of Dråp on vocals, leaving the bass chair vacant. To my knowledge they are working on a full length release, hopefully they will manage to keep my interest peaked on a longer running time as well. "Worship Death" makes me go "Uh!" 8/10 times.

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Puteraeon - The Empires of Death (Self-released 2017)

Puteraeon is a death metal band in the classic Swedish tradition, a genre which has had a long-enduring resurgence. In fact, such a long one that I refuse to call it a trend or revival, Swedish OSDM is obviously here to stay whether you like it or not. After three full-length albums, with one clearly following the line of the other, Puteraeon hits us with an EP containing their strongest material to date. 

 

Puteraeon has managed to put out three strong albums, and in quite rapid succession at that. If you count their demo releases (which you should), which are long enough to be regarded as full length albums as well, Puteraeon has put out an staggering amount of songs between the years of 2008 and 2014. To my surprise though, things went silent for three years after the release of "The Crawling Chaos". The band later announced in 2017 that they were going to self-release their new material, and in the format of a thee track digital EP, an unexpected turn of events if anything. And now with the announcement of a physical version of the EP on the horizon (only vinyl is real!), it's high time to talk about this EP.

 

That these guys love for all things H.P. Lovecraft shouldn't have passed under anyone's radar, this time the man himself even adorns the cover art. Jonas Lindblood's well of HPL-lyrics seems to inexhaustible and by this time I would have a hard time imagining a Puteraeon that didn't worship at the grave of the man at night.

 

Speaking of the grave or Mr. Lovecraft, "Providence" is the opening track of this EP. Tastefully named after the quote "I am providence" which embellishes his headstone. Puteraeon has always had very strong productions, and to my surprise that has not changed here. Even though they this time around employed the reigning world champion of overly compressed- and ear numbing productions, Dan Swanö, instead of Andy LaRocque who has worked on previous albums. This song is extremely well put together, and no part lingers for too long before changing it up. Blastbeats are intertwined with melodic breaks and chugging guitars in a way seems very thought through. One listen to this song often results in at least two more in order to hear your favorite parts again, the true mark of a great track. I do somewhat miss Jonas's deep and guttural voice though. The change in vocal style was in my understanding due to his old approach being hard to replicate live, and I can't argue with that reasoning. The vocals are more articulated here than ever before, and in the end the change is probably for the better. After all, Jonas has lost none of his vigor while bellowing over the epic guitar breaks in the middle of this song.

 

"At the Altars" follows in a slightly more melodic fashion with the guitars of aforementioned Jonas and guitarist Rune Foss harmonize skillfully and just the right amount without going overboard. The song also features a well played solo, echoing over a cavernous riff-landscape. While "Providence" is a swirling vortex of madness (in the best possible way), "At the Altars" is a more catchy affair with parts that get stuck in your head and vocal lines you can anticipate to scream along to at a live show. As with the previous track they change things up at just the right moment to keep your interest peaked, and this goes to show that you can still write this type of death metal as long as you're smart about it. Good musicians will still write fantastic songs even if it's a genre that's been done several times before.

 

Closing song "Epitaph" opens with a blast, in the most literal sense, quickly changing between it and the most classic of Swedish guitar rhythms which continues into the verses. And by this point drummer Anders Malmström has proved that he has more than mastered everything that is to be expected by a death metal drummer, though it would be nice to hear some other form of blastbeat other than the classic grind here and there. This is a short, and to the point, track that is over before you know what hit you. A perfect closing number that leaves you hungry for more.

 

It was a great relief the hear this EP having as good a production as it actually does, the guitars are warm and powerful, the drums sound very organic instead of the castanet-sounding kicks I was fearing. One note I'd like to add is that I would have preferred to have the bass louder in the mix, but that is something I could say about just about any release nowadays. The whole sound has a lot of air and room to breathe even though all instruments are going full throttle basically all the way through.  

 

Verdict:

Puteraeon seem to have gained a lot from taking some extra time to refine the material before release, and after all three years is not an atrocious time to wait for quality. If we're lucky they have more tracks in the bank already, and maybe the next release will be an offering with a longer runtime. Either way, I'll be happy to hear more. If you don't like this, you probably don't like death metal, and if you're tired of the genre, you probably weren't that into it to begin with. The ghost of HPL bestows "The Empires of Death" with: 8,6/10

 

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