Cursed Excruciation – “Devilry and old superstitions”

Although I missed out on both 2021 released demos, ‘Arcane Diabolism’, released through Iron Bonehead Productions on LP and Unpure Records on tape, definitely piqued my interest. Cursed Excruciation blends all the best elements of those great occult sounding Black Metal bands from the late 80’s and early 90’s, something that shouldn’t be surprise in the first place since the band took its name from a Mystifier track. But everyone with a soft spot for early Samael, Varathron, Mortuary Drape, Barathrum and the likes should take notice. Because we seem to share a similar enthusiasm for that old and authentic sort of Black Metal I fired some questions in the direction of Trance Of The Undead, the man behind Cursed Excruciation…

Greetings Trance Of The Undead and welcome to The Whispering Darkness. For starters, you have taken the band name off of the Mystifier song from their classic ‘Wicca’-debut album, so it doesn’t take a much effort to figure out that you are somehow paying tribute to the old Brazilian Black Metal scene with Cursed Excruciation, aren’t you?
Greetings! In some ways, yes, you are definitely correct. The old Brazilian extreme metal sound is very special for me and I always wanted to create something in this vein. That Brazilian influence was in fact present in basically everything I’ve did since the beginning of my other projects. Trance of the Undead for example already had some of the Brazilian traces (especially the heavy influence of José Mojica Marins works) but I wanted to go further and make something different, so I created Cursed Excruciation with this intent in mind but more influences were added and became more apparent later, especially in the second demo tape and afterwards.

Besides the obvious appreciation for Mystifier, there is a general palpable understanding of what ancient Black Metal is all about. In the review I also mentioned Varathron, Mortuary Drape, Necromantia and Samael to describe the common denominator that holds your music together. What does this type of music mean to you?
I like to envision Cursed Excruciation (and also Trance of the Undead for instance) as a medium to express my most obscure feelings and emotions, a form to reflect and manifest my imagination and also to keep a balance between the logical and the subconscious. Personally, I don’t think I would be able to express these same feelings and ideas through other methods, so it’s very natural that I’ll choose such form of music and art as it speaks with me on multiple levels (be it personal or artistic). It’s a very solitary and demanding experience but I definitely feel a certain ecstasy and satisfaction doing it. Now about the bands you cited, I was saying in the previous question that after the first demo more influences came to play, it wasn’t any specific scene or bands but a multitude of similar minded artists that were creating their own brand of black metal before the genre became too streamlined or defined by specific techniques and aesthetics. These bands are great examples of this and they always strike me for their insane creativity and ability to conjure something so powerful and arcane with such primitive methods, showing a certain disregard for conventions yet still indebted to the spirit of older metal traditions like thrash or doom, something that was neglected or even rejected by the followers of the Scandinavian school of black metal and also a good portion of the more modern acts for example.

When I was in the process of writing the review for ‘Arcane Diabolism’ I did some research and by doing so I stumbled upon a few reviews that weren’t exactly the most positive. I reflected on that a bit in my review that such things are mostly to do with a certain degree of appreciation and understanding of the aesthetics of late-’80s and early-’90s Black Metal. But apart from that, do such reactions do something to you or do they leave you completely cold?
I think I know which review you are talking about, that was a bit embarrassing to read to be honest but I can’t say too much about it, I respect their take but I still don’t understand why they wanted to write a review for ‘Arcane Diabolism’ in the first place or what they expected from it, it certainly wasn’t something of their liking nor the next Opeth or Blood Incantation stuff that they seem to appreciate most. Personally, I’m very humble and honest about my music and I’m totally fine with any type of feedback or reception in general, it’s something that I never expected and it was never a problem for me, or something that influenced me to change or make something different from my own convictions and ideas. I think anyone involved in some form of art should share the same opinion.

Prior to ‘Arcane Diabolism’ you have released two demo tapes, both via Unpure Records. Who has heard those earlier recordings will have noticed that musically you haven’t quite moved an inch from what you were clearly set out to do. But, to you, what do set the tracks from the debut album apart from those earlier recordings?
I think the bigger difference comes from the first demo ‘Morbid Catholicism’. That demo was improvised on the spot back then without any previous thoughts or ideas. It just came very naturally. The sound was much more primitive and moribund with those dirge-like passages and riffs. The second demo ‘Initiation: The Oath of Darkness’ was in fact a promo/preview for ‘Arcane Diabolism’, featured two tracks from the debut album but with an earlier, different mix, so it definitely didn’t have much difference compared to the rest of the material that would later be presented in the full length. Now about ‘Arcane Diabolism’, these tracks were written right after the first demo in a period of six/seven months and also had some earlier material that came from before the first demo, when the project was still called ‘Black Altar of Sathanas’. With this name nothing was fully completed or properly recorded but ‘Daughters of Nyx’ and ‘The Sorcerer of Antioch’ were partially composed during that time. Musically, I think the full length has a good mix of the more infernal, faster passages and the doomier sections presented on the first demo, and conceptually is also much more consistent and faithful to what I wanted to achieve. For me, ‘Arcane Diabolism’ summarize everything I’ve idealized for Cursed Excruciation since the very beginning, marking an end to this first cycle of the project.

Of course a title like ‘Arcane Diabolism’ gives quite a bit away of what Cursed Excrucation is about, so does reading the lyrics in the inlay to the LP, but can you still take us with you in your world when it comes to the non-musical sources of inspiration? What, in general, drives you and what are you telling us with your songs?
Although horror cinema wasn’t exactly the most prominent of the non-musical influences that inspired ‘Arcane Diabolism’ directly, it was (and still is) a major influence since the very beginning of my other projects, you can still sense this influence in some of the samples used and the ones that were already present in the first demo. I really worship a lot of great movies and this influence is something that will continue, not only when it comes to writing lyrics and building a certain atmosphere but also musically, everything is related. I am also inspired by a lot of different topics like Jungian psychology, alchemy, mysticism, mythology, religion in general, subconscious, paintings, dreams, superstitions, diverse representations of devilry and Death, cosmology etc. Speaking of devilry and old superstitions, these were definitely the central themes behind ‘Arcane Diabolism’, the idea was to structure like a compendium, or like a grimoire with tales about the occult and also make use of one of the most infamous figures of the Brazilian occult imaginary like Saint Cyprian, whose duality is present on the cover art with his form of saint and also sorcerer, something that also relates to the title of the album itself. During the time of composing and recording this album, I faced a lot of complications and personal problems, the bad omens and the sensation of being actually cursed was also part of what made ‘Arcane Diabolism’ themes resonate even more with me, influencing the whole record.

Something that particularly struck me with listening to your music is the authenticity, it sounds pure and raw, just like the originals of the originators of this specific niche in Black Metal. Can you tell us something about exactly how you go about achieving that sound unique to this music?
I can say that the raw sound in ‘Arcane Diabolism’ was primarily a result of limited resources and lack of enough experience of my part, of course, I already had some notions and references for mixing, for example I wanted it to sound like a mixture of Vulcano’s ‘Bloody Vengeance’, Zemial’s ‘Sleeping Under Tartarus’, Mystifier’s ‘Wicca’ and Varathron’s ‘Walpurgisnacht’, a good and audible bass tone and two panned, biting guitars. During that time, I was still using my old laptop to record and mix everything and my setup was basically a cheap Les Paul-derived guitar, a small cab/amplifier combo, a very basic mic and the shittiest preamp interface you can imagine, so it was a very demanding and stressful experience for me because I really wanted to achieve a good yet still authentic production with these tools. I mentioned earlier that I had some problems during the recording of the album and one of the minor inconveniences I had was related to my guitar and the pair of headphones that I was accustomed to use, not to mention the huge lag that I had to endure to mix these tracks. The album had a much more ‘professional’ treatment compared to my earlier recordings and I really tried to make the best use of everything I had at my disposal at that time, even if was still a bit around the edges and sloppy, similar case to Trance of the Undead’s ‘Eternal Cycles of Death’, that was the last stuff I made using my old setup. Fortunately, for the following Cursed Excruciation material (the split with Funerealm Gloom), I already had some better tools at hand so it was possible to get a more balanced sound with much less trouble than before.

Cursed Excruciation is a one-man band, as far as I was able to figure out from the information that comes with ‘Arcane Diabolism’, you have indeed done everything yourself. How does such a thing work for you? What exactly does the process of writing and recording look like for you? In this, don’t you miss having some consultation with other like-minded musicians?
It’s definitely challenging and demanding (even painfully at times) to make everything by myself but it’s also very rewarding too, there’s lot of difficult and stressful moments to make everything work as you planned and then there’s that sense of wonder and satisfaction (and emptiness…) when everything is said and done. To be honest, I feel very comfortable doing all alone and I think it wouldn’t have the same feeling and meaning for me if it wasn’t made this way. Being able to make everything on my own time and beat is also a good thing because I’m not very good at keeping routines, that’s one of the reasons I didn’t join other bands or projects (the other being the distance). Sometimes I really feel the need of some different input or help because I am very limited as a musician, I like to share some ideas with few friends and sometimes I let other people be involved with lyrics or some additional guitar leads for example but for the most part is like I said earlier, intimacy is part of what makes it special for me. About the writing and recording process, it’s very simple really, I always like to begin any song with the intro/first riff, then begin planning the rest of the song and developing themes and variations from there. Once I have some of the initial riffs, I like to program some very basic drum patterns and start to play in different tempos and combinations to have a better grasp of the overall structure and also where to place vocals. I begin to work with lyrics at this stage, sometimes with sparse verses, key words, a track name etc. With everything complete and also knowing exactly where to put vocals, I finish the lyrics and then record everything, apart from the drums that are programmed (but revamped compared to the demo versions). For mixing, I like to spend a generous amount of time making lots of versions till everything sounds the way I wanted, nowadays I can say that I have a better hardware to work so I can try many things that wouldn’t be possible during my early recordings, that sometimes were a bit rushed during the mixing process due to a lot of troubles and limitations.

In autumn 2023 you have released a split CD with Funerealm Gloom, again through Unpure Records. Funerealm Gloom might not be the best known band, but consists of the duo that can also be found in bands like Witchcraft, Ceremonial Torture, Necromonarchia Daemonum and even Beherit. How did this collaboration come about? Musically, at least, it fits together tremendously well.
This collaboration was indeed very special for me because I’ve been interested and listening to their projects and bands for years and I can say that they were part of my influences too. The idea of a split release came from Marcin of Unpure Records, he already knew that I had this appreciation for the Witchcraft Temple and he was in contact with Antti/Goatprayer at the time, so he suggested a collaboration. I already had listened to the Funerealm Gloom songs before because Marcin sent me a tape of their sole demo, so I was very happy to know that these tracks would be released with Cursed Excruciation later. About my songs, they were composed specifically for this release and like I said, I already was familiar with Funerealm Gloom side so I think they paired really well. I can recommend for anyone into the more obscure side of 90’s black metal especially bands like Liar of Golgotha, Zephyrous, Disharmony and early Varathron. Two covers of Beherit and Sarcófago were also recorded during the same sessions but were discarded due to the extended length, I still plan to release these covers but I will probably re-record and then release it on another occasion.

Globally, there seems to be a slightly bigger appreciation for the music that you are playing. From different parts of the world there are bands that do hail the masters of old, whether it is some of those aforementioned Finnish bands, Black Edifice from Norway or the great Moenen Of Xezbeth, Forbidden Temple and Perverted Ceremony from Belgium. How do you view this development and do you follow such like-minded bands?
I definitely like all these bands you mentioned, especially Perverted Ceremony and Moenen of Xezbeth debut albums. I still haven’t listened to some of the more recent Forbidden Temple demos but I’ve enjoyed a lot their back catalogue and Black Edifice is a cool band that I still need to spin more times. I think this ‘movement’ is in part due to the what black metal became after all these years, many classic bands abandoning their roots or not keeping the same spirit and quality, lots of bands trying to push black and death metal to its unfathomable limits often losing the raw essence and the appeal in the process, especially that aura of primitive darkness and mysticism so essential for the genre. Too much pretentiousness, experimentation, social media exposition and people that clearly don’t understand or know a shit about metal music in the first place. We crave for something that we’d like to hear, of course not for the sake of nostalgia only, but I personally think there’s still room for more sonic exploration in this field, evidenced by bands like Ceremonial Torture, Sartegos, Cultes des Ghoules, Dead Congregation, Negative Plane/Funereal Presence and Teitanblood for example that still bring something new even if their sound is totally bound to older influences and eras.

You have a few other bands and projects. What sets all these different bands apart from each other? And how do you set priorities?
My other projects are similar in nature and definitely share some of the same pair of influences but the approach is a bit different, covering other spectrums and sounds. Lunar Kingdom for example have a more pronounced Nordic second wave black metal and ambient influence, Saturnian Gate was an one shot project (at least for now) expanding on these ambient/electronic soundscapes inspired by sci fi movies like ‘Dark City’, ‘Blade Runner’ and also artists like Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream. Clavis Inferni is a project dedicated to improvised and erratic black metal, demos recorded on the spot (on guitar only, drums programmed later) without any previous idea or further arrangements, a bit like early Abruptum, Beherit and Mephistopheles (from Rio de Janeiro), and also similar to how the first Cursed Excruciation demo was recorded but much more chaotic and rawer, and Trance of the Undead is the more sepulchral and horror-drenched of my projects, with a heavier death metal influence and a more ritualistic and cavernous approach to old school black metal. About the priorities, that’s the ‘worst’ part of having different projects because nowadays I don’t have the same energy and time to compose something for all of them, I can only focus on one at time and try to finish what I’ve already started, then focus on something different. Of course, there’s also time for coming with something out of nowhere like the Clavis Inferni demos which are improvised or compose something that are more aligned with what I’m feeling at that moment, I have plenty of new but unfinished songs for my other projects that were created during these periods, just waiting to be finished and used, but for the most part I really tend to focus on one release at time, developing the ideas and concepts, recording, mixing etc.

Both ‘Arcane Diabolism’ and the split CD with Funerealm Gloom were released in 2023 and are well over half a year old now, that brings up the obvious question, something that I always ask: what is there to expect from Cursed Excruciation for the remaining months of 2024?
For Cursed Excruciation there’s definitely nothing in sight for now. I was working on a new track right after ‘The Defilement of Sanctity’ material for a possible new EP but it’s very early to tell or think about how it will be released, and there’s the previously mentioned Sarcófago and Beherit covers too. Now for Trance of the Undead, two new releases are planned, the first is already recorded and mixed but I still thinking about how it will be presented, it was planned to be part of a split with comrades from Chile and also as a separate mini-album, I want to release it this year but there’s some details that must be discussed first. And the second work in question is an exclusive track that I’m currently preparing for a 7″ split EP, this track should’ve been finished already but I’ve been very busy recently and things didn’t work as intended (as usual). I can also mention that there’s at least two new projects waiting to be finished and released, the first is comprised of old songs composed after Trance of the Undead’s first demo ‘Transe Sepulcral’ and the second is a totally different project influenced by traditional doom metal and gothic rock sounds.

Alright Trance Of The Undead, I’d like to thank you for your time and giving us a bit of a glimpse of the world of Cursed Excrucation. The last words are yours…
I want to thank you for the interest in my projects and this opportunity to speak a bit more about it. Hope your readers also enjoy this conversation, it was a pleasure for me. For anyone still unfamiliar or interested in my works, you can visit my Bandcamp page (tranceoftheundead.bandcamp.com), everything is there.

HEIC NOENUM PAX
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