Odz Manouk- Odz Manouk(2010)

Odz Manouk- Odz Manouk

Twisted and raw, brimming with dissonance and shrouded in the mist, Odz Manouk reaches out to you from the ethereal and grabs you by the throat, forcing you to endure the chill of it's icy grip before twisting your neck and letting Death come for the remains. Wicked spirits accompany this song of demonic indoctrination, pulling themselves from the rotted sound waves and polluting the air with the memories of the dead. Odz Manouk beautifully channel the Old Spirits of Norwegian Second Wave Black Metal, but also display musical competence and an assimilation of the modern in their musty Black Metal sound. Fearless, atmospheric songwriting beautifully intertwines with the classic grimm aesthetic to form beautiful, skin-peeling storms of wrath. Simply put, Odz Manouk is as important of a Black Metal album to come from the US in a long, long time.

Everything about Odz Manouk is nothing short of perfect, from the songwriting to the production to the individual musical performances. Menacing and raw, the production of Odz Manouk is filthy with static and grime, but also even enough for every instrument to have a say in the song. The guitars frequently experiment with dissonant leads, which coupled with a perfectly distant and reverb drenched guitar tone, leads to some the creepiest atmospheres in Black Metal. I also adore the vocals and bass sound: the former choked with pus and malice, the latter pulsating and burrowing through the compositions like a worm digging eagerly downward toward an exposed corpse. Odz Manouk perfectly captures the feel and sound of Black Metal at it's most pure and excruciating.

Odz Manouk is also a beautifully written album, which perfectly mixes Mayhem, Horna and early Deathspell Omega into whirling abysses of hatred: "The Indisciplinarian" features a meaty main riff which brings to mind Burzum, sandwiching it between extended sections of atmospheric dissonance and raw screeching. "I Will Crush to Marrow This Crow of Ill" begins in a burst of Mayhem like mid-paced intensity, but slowly and surely devolves into a frost-bitten elegy of blades that turns the very air into a sea of ripping knives. The guitar work on Odz Manouk makes heavy use of repetition, but is unafraid to throw in dissonant or even melodic leads, like the distant, foggy whispers on "Mechanics of a Nightmare." All with the intent of creating a dark and foreboding sense of dread, a feeling of hopelessness before the void... and Odz Manouk captures that essence of darkness perfectly.

What perhaps is most impressive about Odz Manouk, aside from the veritable perfection of the sound and the musicianship, is the way everything looks and feels appropriate without ever being stale of generic. Odz Manouk is not a purely original album by any stretch, but it does as much as needed to feel unique. There is a definite creative vision and mission behind the tracks on Odz Manouk, outside of the popular "we want to sound like X band" that is far too widespread and overbearing in Extreme Metal today. It's easy to list the influences on Odz Manouk, but it never feels like the album is leaning on those influences and the fact that you really like those influences to use as a crutch; Odz Manouk stands on it's own.

American Black Metal is seeing a surge of amazingly talented young acts, but Odz Manouk might very well stand above almost all of them. High praise, but I struggle to find a more impressive example of both creativity and reverence than Odz Manouk. The dark arts and incantations this California one-piece wields are powerful indeed. Consider me bound and tethered to Odz Manouk's ancient crypt for all time... far worse curses exist among the shadows.

Rating: 10/10

The Curse Weekly Playlist: Supporting Nihilistic Noise

First off, thanks to DJ J. Fever AKA DJ Melodic One for his comment that inspired this. I had considered it before, but decided against it. Still, if people will check them out, I will make them.

I also want to introduce out new font: Lucida Grande. Pretty no?

Using the kick ass 8Tracks website(get to know it if you don't), I will be making weekly playlists of some of the underground Extreme Music(Metal, Punk, Noise) that I have been listening to over the previous week. They will be about 10 tracks give or take, and will all feature lesser known artists. The hope is to promote these acts as best I can, which was the whole point of this blog in the first place. If you like what you hear, then get out there and support these artists, whether it's buying their gear, heading out to their shows or just sharing kind words of encouragement.

Anyway, here is the link to the first playlist: Weekly Playlist #1

Tracklist:
1. GGUW - "Untitled" : Raw Atmospheric Black Metal from Germany, off the EP Gegen Gravitation und Willensfreiheit(2011)

2. Hordes - "Servile" : Metallic Hardcore from The United States, off the EP Abarognosis(2011)

3. Temple Nightside - "Incipit-Relinquished" : Atmospheric Black/Death from Australia, off the EP Prophecies of Malevolence(2011)

4. A Pregnant Light - "Impurity Flowing Upward" : Raw BlackCrust from The United States, off the LP A Feast of Clipped Wings(2011)

5. Nuclear Magick - "Nuclear Necromancy" : Bestial Black Metal/Sludge from Germany, off the demo Priests of the Bomb(2010)

6. Schattenvald - "Niedergang 1648: Eyn Raub von Flammen" : Raw Atmospheric Black Metal from Germany, off the LP II(2007)

7. Deathrite - "Claws" : Metallic Hardcore from Germany, off the EP Deathrite(2011)

8. Uzumaki - "An Engrossing Epitaph" : Technical Death Metal from The United States, off the LP Glossolalia(2012)

9. Ringing Bell - "With Positive Actuator To Project and To Retract" : Death/Doom from Denmark, off the demo Hospital Corners(2012)

10. Dressed in Streams - "The Breastplate Shines" : Raw Atmospheric Black Metal from The United States, off the LP Dressed in Streams(2011)

Proclamation- Nether Tombs of Abaddon(2012)

Proclamation- Nether Tombs of Abaddon

In a lot of ways, Proclamation are very similar to many Top 40 Pop and Rock acts, usually groups who Proclamation fans despise to the point of irrational hatred. But the similarities are very striking: like say… Beyonce(or whatever), Proclamation have delivered pretty much the same album over and over again with predictable vigor to a fan base that has no desire for them to change. Each individual song follows predictable, easily digestible paths to fairly standard conclusions, and offer few if any surprises along the way. And each album sticks closely to the well defined boundaries and standards set by the fan base, never seeking to challenge them in any way. Sure, while Beyonce produces Pop-y R&B and Proclamation produce what essentially boils down to busy Blackened static drenched noise, at their most base levels the two artists are doing pretty much the same thing.

Nether Tombs Of Abaddon, the fourth full length of similar material from these Spaniards, is a relatively safe and lifeless affair through and through, and sees Proclamation fall into a self-imposed state of perpetual non-creativity. Fact of the matter is, Proclamation’s shtick has worn damn thin: sure it was fun at first, listening to a band so full of piss and vinegar, spewing Satan-praising vomit from every orifice and taking gleeful joy in disposing of posers. It might not have been original, but when Proclamation first reared its deformed visage from the abyss, the whole Bestial Black Metal Revival was just starting to hit its stride. With the unholy semen of Blasphemy and Conqueror flowing through their veins, Proclamation made good on their promise of playing only the most mindless, ugly shit they could bang out. And as I said, it was fun… for a while.

But Nether Tombs Of Abaddon isn’t any fun at all, largely because listening to it gives me nothing but an endless sense of deja-vu. And not even in a purely album-to-album sense, as some songs on Nether Tombs Of Abaddon sound exactly the same, making distinguishing solely on sound much more challenging. It doesn't help that the production is mostly gutless and thin, as this would likely sound better with a more full-throated production and a stronger bass sound, instead of just drenching a thin production sound in copious levels of reverb and calling it a day. So what we get with Nether Tombs Of Abaddon is a lot of anger and speed... and that's it. This would be fine if Proclamation were that much more aggressive and nasty then their counterparts... but they aren't. Frankly, Prosanctus Inferi, Black Witchery and Impious Baptism offer far more blasphemous belching for your dollar, and I would recommend any of those groups albums over Nether Tombs Of Abaddon.

I haven't been kind to Nether Tombs of Abaddon in this review, but in an effort for full disclosure, I must admit that I still enjoy it. I just love this sound and this genre, and Proclamation are able performers who don't lack for passion or hatred. But with so many similar acts doing this sound better, and with so many acts pushing the boundaries of the genre in new directions, Nether Tombs of Abaddon feels lost in Purgatory: not nasty enough or interesting enough to move onto a higher(or lower) plane. If you are a hardcore fan of Ross Bay Cult-style bands and cannot get enough of Blasphemy, then Nether Tombs of Abaddon will no doubt sate your unholy hunger. But those among us who have heard this song and dance before, Nether Tombs of Abaddon serves only as a distraction on the side of a long, barren road. Stop for a moment and enjoy... then jump back in the car and move on.

Rating: 6/10

Yayla- Sathimasal(2012)

Yayla- Sathimasal

Bleak and dessicated, dripping with sorrow, Sathimasal will smother you. Even experienced spelunkers of cavernous, coffin-dwelling chasms will be overwhelmed with the thick layer of decaying flesh and minds dripping all over this noise. It's oppressive, at times too oppressive and prone to falling into ruts from which it takes forever for songs to escape. This one man project from Turkey has churned out a collection of tunes so massive and over-stuffed, they can barely be absorbed in a single listen. But there in lies the charm of Sathimasal: it's not perfect, but it's an intense, full body listen that demands attention.

Sathimasal takes influence from where ever it can find it: elements of Beherit, Emperor, Burzum, the various Mories projects, Lunar Aurora, Incantation. Look at that list... it's easy to see how Sathimasal could really be that damn oppressive and atmospheric. Only when one begins listening to the album, they come to a realization. It's all oppressive atmosphere. Sathimasal is one massively large piece of ambient skull hammering. There is very little in terms of dynamic progressions or even slightly adventurous musicianship: riffs, bass lines and drums are repeated at a machine-like pace for long, barren stretches of minimalism drenched in a swampy compound of brilliant, cavernous production and massive, overwhelming keyboards. All the individual tracks pretty much follow these same basic patterns: repetition, shift, repetition, shift, etc. For some seriously long tracks: the shortest track "Fordreame Wonderlore," an all instrumental track, comes in at a puny 7:38. This album was quite literally designed to inundate you.

Yet despite this, Sathimasal works most of the time. In the right frame of mind, in the right atmosphere, it can be utterly transfixing. Its almost has a Drone-like quality to it, which makes it feel like a unique experience. And it's the production that makes it all possible. The guitars and drums have a distant quality to them, while the bass rumbles the very Earth right underneath the surface. The keyboards overwhelm the other instruments in just the right fashion to creat a swirling, vortex like effect. The only thing I can compare it to is S.V.E.S.T.'s Urfaust, though the production here is much stronger. This is easily my favorite production job of 2012 so far.

Sathimasal is a charming album, one that appeals to my personal taste quite nicely. But it's not perfect, particularly in the song-writing department: the repetition starts to become a crutch at several points, and feels artificially extended from time to time for the sake of testing listener endurance. As charming as being blasted by the same riff can be for a time, there is a breaking point and Sathimasal continuously push it on every track. The final, vocal and keyboard section of "Emperor; Elegy To Wars Never Fought" is incredibly beautiful for the first few minutes, and by the end you are ready to strangle the female vocalist and break the keyboard player's hands. Sathimasal is in desperate need of some self-editing, and I can't help but wonder if we would have had a classic on our hands had Emir Togrul, the man behind Yayla, had shown some self restraint.

Which he did not... at fucking all. Sathimasal is a tyrant who wants complete control, and it's going to get it at any cost. I find this both appealing and yet slightly boring, and I admit that Sathimasal has been perhaps the hardest album for me to gauge so far this year. I've been listening to it with almost religious zeal, yet never really become as enamored with it like I want to. I can say this: Sathimasal is an album that I think just about everyone should try to experience, to see just how much abuse you can take. A powerful atmospheric experience perhaps, but not always a powerful listening experience.

Rating: 7.5/10

Impious Baptism - Path of the Inverted Trinity(2012)

Impious Baptism- Path of the Inverted Trinity

The rather truncated J, the man behind Impious Baptism, might be one for simple monikers, but his body of work speaks for itself. Think of a major Black Metal or Thrash band from Australia, and chances are Mr. J has played for them. Destroyer 666, Nocturnal Graves, Destruktor, Hobbs' Angel of Death, etc. It's an impressive resume, and makes his solo project Impious Baptism a very interesting one. A legit metal-head like J should be able to whip together some of the finest Bestial Blackened Thrash on Earth right?

Yep.

Path of the Inverted Trinity, the second EP from Impious Baptism this year, is dripping with the gore of Satanic sacrifice and charred with scorching hellfire. Mr. J is not only a master musician, who plays guitar, bass and drums with incredible skill and speed, but also a passionate songwriter. Sure, Path of the Inverted Trinity is nothing new... at all. It follows the well worn paths of it's precursors: Fallen Angel of Doom, INRI, Unchain the Wolves. But it does so with energy, talent and above all song-craft. Take "Iron Doctrine of the Antichrist," which sizzles with rage and pure speed, but also a strong sense of groove and tightness. It maintains a single tempo for much of the running time, yet never becomes boring or lifeless. The opening riff salvo of "Descent From Ashes" is damn impressive, and shows that Mr. J's(still having a hard time with the single letter name...) is with his axe. The EP is fast, no nonsense and fucking pissed, but it's also brilliantly crafted and musically competent. There is a level of intensity and unholy zeal that seems wholly missing from many within a genre that, by it's very nature, should be all intensity and unholy zeal.

Path of the Inverted Trinity isn't a masterpiece by any stretch, and the production quality in particular is suspect: it often cuts in and out, and the layer of static can be rather obnoxious as it crackles and clicks over the top of each of the three tracks. But in terms of sheer blasphemous fire and guitar-slaying madness, it delivers where so many pathetic worship albums fail miserably. This is worship, of Satan and genre, that sings praises and deserves some in return.

Rating: 8/10

The Curse Quarterly Report

So March is coming to an end, and it's time for a quarterly report of the best albums of 2012 so far. This list will only include Extreme Music releases, and I will be adding a nifty little 8tracks playlist at the end, so if you haven't actually listened to any of the albums I reviewed, you can sample for yourself.

Best Performing(first to last in descending order)

Charon- Sulfur Seraph(The Archon Principle)

Vattnet Viskar- Vattnet Viskar

Plague Widow- Plague Widow

Lord Mantis- Pervertor

Muknal- Muknal

Witch In Her Tomb- Witch In Her Tomb

Axis of Light- By the Hands of Consuming Fire

Spawn of Possession- Incurso

Locrian & Mamiffer- Bless Them That Curse You

Desecravity- Implicit Obedience



8Tracks Playlist

Cerebrate- Demo(2011)

Cerebrate- Demo

Featuring members of Cascadian Black Metal band Ash Borer, Cerebrate are a Death Metal band... and... um...

Fuck, honestly I can't be bothered.

One almost has to wonder that, considering the progressive and anti-scene nature of Ash Borer, if Cerebrate is... kind of a joke? A subtle "fuck you" to static Death Metal fans who will eat this shit up again and again and keep asking for more. Will the members of this "band" one day declare on their Facebook page that Cerebrate was just a clever ruse to show how lame and easily sated that lame Death Metal purists can be?

I can see it now, as clear as an azure sky on a summers day... *flashback noises

Member 1: "Dude, I need some new gear for the next Ash Borer album. My shit is getting ragged as fuck..."

Member 2: "Yeah, I need some cash too man... got a drug habit to maintain..."

Member 1: "Hmmm... we could try playing a few more shows, getting the kids out to see us?"

Member 2(I assume it took two guys max): "Maybe... kinda feeling too lazy for that..."

Member 1: "Well, how about we whip something up to sell to Death Metal fags? Shouldn't be too hard?"

Member 2: "Death Metal fags? None of those basement trolls have any cash."

Member 1: "Oh yeah? Then how come obscure ass Swedish Death Metal demo's sell for big bucks on eBay? None of them have any girlfriends. They have nothing else to spend their money on."

Member 2: "Good point... well, what should we give them? Some Incantation worship? Some Morbid Angel felatio?"

Member 1: "Nah dude, those would take too long, and I am all hung over and shit... how about some SwedDeath? Just give them some blatant and derivative Entombed worship for the nth time. We will record it at your house, it'll take like twenty minutes. Then we'll sell them for a few bucks to get new equipment for Ash Borer."

Member 2: "And of course, those sweet, sweet drugs..."

Member 1: "Of course. Grab that practice amp and that guitar. I wanna push this out before the Dr. Who Marathon starts."

Member 2: "Um, that guitar is fucked to shit man..."

Member 1: "Who cares. We are gonna record the shit on a tape player anyway."

Member 2: "But man, I mean we got to do more than that right? What about cover art? And song titles? Lyrics... those all take a long time with Ash Borer."

Member 1: "Jesus fucking Christ, how hard do you think it is to trick these crusty old purists? They want it. They expect it to be all shitty looking... I will just draw something up in Microsoft Paint. We will call the tracks "I" and "II", and I'll just read the phone book in a growly voice..."

Member 2: "Will that work? Really?"

Member 1: "Did you listen to the most recent Miasmal."

Member 2: "... I'll grab my coat."

Rating: 0/10

Second Opinions Are Like Cancerous Assholes...

So starting tomorrow, we will be doing something a little bit different around here: the Curse's new authors will be reviewing albums that I have already reviewed, and giving their opinion on them. Some of these opinions might be different(I imagine they will all be different), some might be the same(not likely), but they sure will be opinions...

Be on the look out. I have no doubt being called a stupid asshole by my own co-authors will be a lot of fun... and I might just jump in with my own second opinions as well.

Cheers,
Sharpy

Mgła - With Hearts Toward None (2012)

Mgła - With Hearts Toward None

Since 2005, Mgła's unique sound has developed a cult following within the black metal underground. With their monumentally excellent EP Mdłości and its quality follow up Further Down the Nest, they refined a song-writing style centered on melodic leads, backed by thick rhythm guitar, varied drumming and deep growls. After four years of silence, they've finally hit us with With Hearts Toward None, the follow up to their 2008 debut album Groza, delivering everything fans have come to expect from the band.

To get my main problem with the album out of the way quickly, With Hearts Toward None follows the style they perfected on Mdłości and Further Down the Nest pretty closely. Mgła's style is unique, but I'd really love to see them expand upon what they do with it. I find it impossible not to compare it to their debut album, Groza, which had more adventurous song writing and a clever use of bass that is unfortunately rare in black metal. While I'm not going to claim that Groza revolutionized black metal, With Hearts Toward None is less exciting in the composition of its songs. This could have something to do with the song lengths; it has 7 songs averaging around 6 minutes, while Groza has 4 songs averaging around 9 minutes each. As such, the album provides less space within each song for variation, so I'm inclined to be forgiving.

Though that's certainly an issue I have with the album, the nuts and bolts of the songs are brilliant. It says a lot about Mgła's song writing that, even if it feels a bit less complicated than Groza's, With Hearts Toward None is still one of the most enjoyable black metal albums I've experienced in recent years. As usual, Mgła's ability to shift from riff to riff is reminiscent of the early works of Darkthrone and Burzum, with each switch feeling like a smooth, natural progression. Their leads provide memorable melodies, with “III” and “V” being some of my favorite in Mgła's catalog. The lead guitars contrast with and compliment the darker rhythm guitar, which make a strong showing. The bass is there, but is less audible and used to lesser effect than in Groza. The rhythm guitars steps in to provide interesting moments instead; they make dramatic showings in “I” and “IV”, and the riffs they play in “II” and “VI” are album highlights. “III” is a good example of the albums subtle strengths; the military snare roll that shows up during the bridge and the solo at the end of the song are stand out. The vocals are as usual excellent, their depth and strength being reminiscent of Mikko Aspa of Deathspell Omega and Clandestine Blaze fame. Their depth gives the songs a sense of invocation that compliments the Orthodox style of black metal they play, and you can even make out the lyrics! The 10 minute long ending track, “VII”, is particularly worth mentioning. As I said, the length of the songs in Groza are to its benefit, and the 10 minutes allotted to “VII” give it the room to breath that gives it a great deal of gravitas. While it may not be my favorite track on the album, it is a worthy finisher.

With Hearts Toward None isn't a step in any new direction for Mgła, but it's listenable in the extreme. Despite the fact that they developed this style expertly on Mdłości, and that Groza's song writing and bass work make it more structurally unique, songs like “III” and “V” prove how utterly enjoyable With Hearts Toward None is. Both old fans of Mgła and those new to them will find much to enjoy here, and Mgła have proved once again that an individual take on the traditional black metal sound can be as interesting and fresh as any experimentation.

8.9/10

-Faulty

Metal Archives / Buy

Stone Angels- Within the Witch(2011)

Stone Angels- Within the Witch

I really love that cover art.

It was certainly the first thing that stood out to me about Stone Angel's debut LP, Within the Witch. It looks like the dessicated corpse of Yggdrasil exploding from the Earth into a mass field of crucified victims who cry out in pain. It's also perfectly appropriate for the album: blackened and monolithic. Within the Witch does not do anything new or different then any other Sludge/Doom album ever released, but it does pack massive riffs and plenty of atmosphere into tight, heavy tracks.

Musically, Within the Witch is fairly standard yet highly competent Doom/Sludge in the vein of Thou, Burning Witch and Noothgrush, so there are not a whole lot of surprises here. Larger than life riffs, tortured screams and earth-shattering bass drive each song along fairly predictable paths, all performed well and with good energy. It's all fairly standard business as usual type stuff: "Bleeding Black" could easily be an EyeHateGod song with it's groovy riffs and thundering low end, while "Withdrawing the Jinn" has that classic New Orleans-metal charm to it... like EyeHateGod as well really. "White Noise, White Light" takes more from the Burning Witch/Thorr's Hammer style of Sludge/Doom, complete with that occult blackened edge and cavernous vocals.

Where Within the Witch stands out are during those moments of subdued bleakness. During the last few minutes of "White Noise, White Light," the listener is treated to a lovely piece of ambient noise; jarring feedback filters in the distant while a woman whispers indecipherable words, perhaps of evil, perhaps of sorrow. These moments are sadly rare during Within the Witch, and I can't help but hunger for more of them. There is a serious spark of creativity and adventurousness here: "Coffin Cross," by far the strongest track on the album, seethes with Blackened rage, ascending the well trodden paths the rest of the album follows and entering new and exciting territory. It's just too bad that Stone Angels didn't appear interested in following these moments over the entire album, instead choosing to give us lots of EyeHateGod stuff.

Not that there is anything wrong with that: I fucking love EyeHateGod, and even the most worship heavy moments of Within the Witch feel superior to most EyeHateGod worship bands out there today. Stone Angels are an extremely young band, having only formed in 2010 and already with a full-length under their belt. The talent and songwriting skill is here, and it peeks through often enough to give Within the Witch plenty of value. Within the Witch does not live up to this obvious talent, but it gives us a glimpse into a potentially grim future.

Rating: 7.5/10