Artist: Sepulchral Curse / Ashen Tomb
Country: Finland
Label: Godz Ov War Productions
Formats: Split 7″ EP
Year: 2024
‘Ashen Curse’ is a part of four 7” EP’s released by the Polish Godz Ov War Productions label and combines two of current day’s Finnish Death Metal bands. Compared to the other two split 7” EP’s within this same batch (Perversion/Pyromancer and Black Ceremonial Kult/Shambles) this is definitely the one where the bands are musically closest.
Other than the name suggests, it is not Ashen Tomb that starts off, but it is actually Sepulchral Curse that opens this split 7” EP. With a decade on the clock already and having released two full-lengths and a couple of EP’s this band has been hammering their craft through our collective skulls for a while, this EP is the latest offering and it is pretty much in line with the band’s previous full-length album ‘Abhorrent Dimensions’ (Transcending Obscurity Records). While the music is firmly rooted in Incantation-like Death Metal, it has a distinct flair of Black Metal to it both in the fast picking and a slightly higher tone compared to the common Death Metal tuning. It also bears a solid resemblance with Solothus, not in the least because Sepulchral Curse has both former Solothus vocalist Kari Kankaanpää and guitarist Aleksi Luukka in its ranks. It might not be the best Death Metal band from Finland, but they surely deliver the goods on this split EP.
On the B-side we do find Ashen Tomb. The band only released a 3-track cassette EP at the end of 2022 (also by Godz Ov War Productions), so new material was definitely more than welcome. While this sort of Doom-ish Death Metal that can more or less be placed in the “cavernous” corner usually is not much my cup of tea, this new song certainly does not follow the overly standardised paths. The tracks on the previously EP were already a pretty good introduction to the band, but I do consider this a firm step up. Especially in the music’s dynamics, while that usually isn’t quite the strongest feature in Death/Doom Metal ‘Ashen Tomb’ sounds both piercing, grinding and relentless in its changes of pace. The band swings you around between slightly dragging slow passages and the pounding bursts of violence. But whether the pace slows down or is fired up, one thing is more than clear: Ashen Tomb is built upon actual riffs, thundering and deliciously grinding riffs. And it usually is that adequate riffing that is missing in the majority of the doomy Death Metal bands these days.
Of course, it is not necessary to pick sides when listening to split 7” EP’s, but in fact, unconsciously, I always do that anyway. It might not be that surprising, but on this particular split EP I am going for Ashen Tomb. This one song has some excellent riffing and alluring dynamics, and I haven’t even mentioned those foul bellowing vocals yet. Yes, Ashen Tomb just takes the win for me.
