DEFY THE CURSE – Horrors Of Human Sacrifice
January 27, 2023, a year ago
(Hammerheart)
Netherlands-based Defy The Curse (don't like the name, sounds like overproduced metalcore to me) get things started off right, real right, with opening cut “Leading Into The Realm Of Torment” here, all His Hero Is Gone and Disfear energy and forward momentum, crusty anthemic d-beat DM all the way, and my blood is pumping, my adrenaline is going sideways, my doctor is concerned, everything is perfect here.
“The Tower Of Suffering” gets all second-album Crowbar on our miserable asses, and I love it; “Swarms” continues the groove, but with a more upbeat swagger to it, almost resulting in a... fun track. “Panopticon” is a late-album sludger, and “Dreameater” closes it off with chugging, mid-tempo OSDM. Awesome, I love it, and I love the vibe that these songs combine to create, all crusted up Bolt Thrower, antagonistic and grinding Celtic Frost, drunken rawk-era Entombed... it's death metal that's fun to listen to, there's a spirit and attitude peeking through the cracks. It's not like there's a ton of variety in the songs, and I could have had a bit more roughness around the edges in the production sound, however it is big and bulky enough to pack a vicious punch, so I can't complain too much.
But all in all, this is a fantastic debut full-length from a band I will certainly continue to check out in the future.
