Infernum
The Curse
4.8
The intro makes me laugh. It is supposed to be evil and disturbing, but really it's just a couple of guys saying predictably corny things while an organ and synth play spookily in the background. I keep expecting the Count from Sesame Street to start cackling "One! Ahahahaha, One Too Many Intros, Ahahaha!" The worst part is that experience has taught me anything this pretentious and trite is not going to be follwed by music I am going to really enjoy. The only real exception to this rule was Resurrection’s first LP from the early days of death metal.
And sure enough, the music that ensues is simply not up to the task of exciting, disturbing or anything but boring and irritating me. It's funeral doom meets black metal, I guess. A raspy lead vocalist and a typically bored sounding female counterpoint, a funeral organ, some badly timed rhythms, slow paced songwriting and a dull, unprofessional production mark the record as something I could have lived without. Occasional speedy, amateurish bits break up the general tedium.
The musicianship is below par for the most part, but how much of it is intentional I couldn't say. Or care. It grates. The production is lackluster, but not embarrassing. Lots of wash, lots of hollows echoes. It's not too hard to pick out each instrument, if you want to. It'll do.
Bottom line: I am a long time removed from being even somewhat interested in this stuff. But if I had never heard the same style before I might be at least somewhat compelled. They aren't bad for this kind of funeral death band. But really, with so many choices in the genre, you would think bands would be stretching their sound and style a bit to remove themselves from the "just another" curse. If you are dying for a little simplistic plodding black/doom, you should give these guys a listen. I think most of us can and have heard better.
