Thursday 23 November 2017

I AM A CURSE

BandI AM A CURSE
GenresPunk / Hardcore / Post-Hardcore / Post-Metal / Crust / Doom / Sludge
Related artists?.
CountryLe Mans FRANCE
Years Active2010-2014
Song: "...to Give Way to the Pallid Hue of Despair"
Album: "Sequel For an Unforgiving Wreckage: Civil Wars"
Year: 2014
For fans ofLamantide, Remains Of The Day, Lavotchkin, Anodyne, Botch, Litany For The Whale, Die Abete, Birch, LVTN, Engineer, Llynch, Jough Dawn Baker, Barque, The Armed, Nine Eleven, Converge, The Power And The Glory, (early) Baroness, Titan, Monuments Collapse, Death Mercedes, Birds In A Row, Burning Bright, Trainwreck, Lentic Waters, Buried Inside and The Minor Times.
Label(s): Communication Is Not Words / I.corrupt Records / Maniyax Records / Mosh Potatoes / Sieve Sand Records / Skulltrophy Records / Blindman Melodies / Brain Ache Records / Emergence / Lawka Parkowa / Orchid Scent
This post's artist is from the November 2017 Mix. This is track #5.
You can download: the November 2017 Mix#11 right here or get the new December 2017 Mix#12 here.

I AM A CURSE were amazing. Although they only released two, five-song EPs, both are excellent, brooding and dark hardcore mixed with some post-metal and doom. They released from around 2011 until 2014 but haven't heard anything since then, giving me the impression that they have disbanded. What a shame.

The band's debut EP was 'Prequel for an Unforgiving Wreckage: Barren Lands' and begins with "And the Red Shall Disappear First...", which is a prodigious 7:51 of dark, metallic post-hardcore. The opening few minutes are eerie as hell, with sporadic guitar notes, silence and some odd, displaced noises. At 1:43 we meet the first drum hit, but the intro continues on until the three-minute mark when the song kicks in, with some killer parts happening at 3:45 (dual vocals), 4:52 (killer bass riffs) and 6:10 (climax). "The Lighthouse" takes no time to build atmosphere, and instead opts to crush the listener's skull from the first note. This plays much like similar bands in the post-hardcore/post-metal genres, most notably Buried InsideTitanLamantide and a touch of Botch with one heck of a breakdown just after the five-minute mark. "The Wreck" is vintage I AM A CURSE, riding a smooth, groovin' dragon of sludgy, vicious post-metal that culminates at the end of the song. "The Open Sea" opens like a From A Second Story Window song, incorporating soft, sullen, singing metalcore vocals. It's a "meh" song. "An Unspoken Drift from Scylla to Charybdis part. I" is a guitar-only instrumental close concluding at 2:17.

'Sequel For an Unforgiving Wreckage: Civil Wars' was released a full three years after its predecessor, and it does not disappoint. Opening with the short and seemingly lonely guitar and noise track "An Unspoken Drift from Scylla to Charybdis part. II", it erupts after the first minute, if not for a mere 30 seconds, indicating that track two is gonna be a projected nightmare. And, it is so. "The Shore (retractatio)" is 3:32 of absolutely pummeling hardcore in the vein of Trainwreck, Converge and Lentic Waters. "The Swell" is aptly titled, as the bassist is a master of rolling, swelling and pulsating bass lines that push this engorged yet dense mass of crusty hardcore through about three and a half minutes before it slows to a halt. Track four's "The Waves" is huge, which at this point shouldn't come as much of a surprise. There's an eerie intro that reminds me of a ship passing silently through the night, but at 1:10 the gargantuan tidal waves appear, smashing the boat to smithereens at 2:02. The subsequent two and half minutes are a clinic of crusty, dark and metallic hardcore and this song is easily one of my favourites, as is that fucking booming bass ring-out at 3:21...daaaaaaaaaammmmmn. There's also the screaming that transitions to the track's conclusion, and those vocals are sinister as fuck and delivered with such animosity that I'm constantly taken aback by their sheer power. We shan't forget the epic closer "...to Give Way to the Pallid Hue of Despair", for it is the backbone of this stellar release. At 6:12, it builds in a similar way to the previous track, but once the bass comes in all I can hear is Buried Inside's 'Chronoclast', the song "Time As Imperialism" in particular, and I'm instantly in heaven. The changeover at 2:12 is monstrous, with a further minute and a half of violent, heaving and essential I AM A CURSE material. The song takes a peculiar turn right before the four-minute mark, opting for a chorus of yelled French directly before laying waste to the listener at 4:12. The driving burst makes a stand at 4:40 with the band's ultimate breakdown, and holy fuck is it mesmerizing. Jesus, what an experience.

As you can plainly see, I AM A CURSE = gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood

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DISCOGRAPHY

2011 - Prequel for an Unforgiving Wreckage: Barren Lands 12"LP (stream/donate/download here)

2014 - Sequel for an Unforgiving Wreckage: Civil Wars 12"LP (stream/donate/download here)

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(2014) I AM A CURSE - "...to Give Way to the Pallid" (from 'Sequel For an Unforgiving Wreckage: Civil Wars')

(2014) I AM A CURSE - "The Waves" (from 'Sequel For an Unforgiving Wreckage: Civil Wars')

(2011) I AM A CURSE - "The Wreck" (from 'Prequel for an Unforgiving Wreckage: Barren Lands')

(2011) I AM A CURSE - "The Lighthouse" (from 'Prequel for an Unforgiving Wreckage: Barren Lands')

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I AM A CURSE additional links
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