Artist: Black Curse
Country: USA
Label: Sepulchral Voice Records
Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD
Year: 2024
Apart from those who saw the band live in its earliest stages and/or were able to obtain a copy of the advance promo/demo of the debut LP that was sold exclusively at 2019’s edition of the Killtown Deathfest in Copenhagen, Denmark, I think to most people Black Curse’s ‘Endless Wound’ came out of left field. The somewhat nondescript name and uninspired logo certainly didn’t help raise any expectations, but that certainly added to the element of surprise, as ‘Endless Wound’ turned out to be a rather merciless Death Metal blow that also pleased the ones who like their fair share of chaotic Black Metal.
A self-released promo tape that was sold during their European trek during summer of 2023 was the first sign the band was cooking something up in their hell’s kitchen. The short 2-track promo tape definitely was an appetizer and featured some rough ideas that ended up on what we have here, Black Curse’s sophomore album. Obviously, the element of surprise is gone, but the merciless Death Metal with that chaotic Black Metal edge to it is still very much here and it blended into a solid new record.
Compared to the debut, ‘Burning In Celestial Poison’ sounds a bit sharper and slightly stripped from the attractive gloomy atmosphere that made ‘Endless Wound’ an album that caught many people’s attention at the time. That somewhat bareboned production with its dryer sound rids the music from most of its Black Metal spirit in favour of a far more aggressive nature. This way the band shifts a bit towards what we heard from label mates Concrete Winds. No, both bands are not comparable, but in terms of musical essence: no bells and whistles, just pure and straightforward, pummelling madness.
Although ‘Endless Wounds’ stirred up the Extreme Metal scene quite a bit, I always felt that the album was just a solid release and not as spectacular as many claimed – let alone that it redefined the whole Black/Death Metal genre, as some wild claims would have you believe. For that, it simply lacked conviction, not so surprising perhaps when you see that the band members, besides Black Curse, are involved with overrated bands like Blood Incantation, Primitive Man and Khemmis. Like many bands from the North American continent, Black Curse also misses that much-needed rough edge that makes the result authentic. This comes across as a bit contrived with which, indeed, it feels a bit flat and overall unconvincing.
‘Burning In Celestial Poison’ is a logical continuation of what Black Curse did on ‘Endless Wound’, but with the majority of the atmospheric elements being dropped, it feels even more stale. I wouldn’t necessarily say that this new record is a bad one, I would still be grade it as a solid album, but as a whole it goes by without many real highlights – ironically enough, the slower parts are the most interesting. In a scene where more bands start to find their way into those wild and savage musical territories, being either underground stalwarts like Primitive Warfare or even their previously mentioned label mates of Concrete Winds, the competition is cutthroat.
