Calling to the upcoming blood moon for its redirection of power Turku, Finland-based blackened death metal quintet SEPULCHRAL CURSE unveil a next-dimensional version of their act with this inspired third full-length album. Built upon a body of violently struck precision death metal and given limbs and breath by way of melodic blackened death ‘Crimson Moon Evocations‘ is a molten fire-charged hammer, a two-handed beast of intelligent design built to crush and cauterize all that its wielder strikes. In taking increasingly bold steps beyond their beginnings these folks now find a most clear and directly stated voice, a work of brutality and high-grade melodicism which bears meaningful connection to what’d been developed on their previous two full-lengths. Poised as a monolithic fusion of niche specific ideation unto its own the band’s latest work manages this bold strike without leaving behind the admirable classics-minded locus that’d lead them down this decade-long path.

Sepulchral Curse formed back in 2013 between folks who’d cut their teeth on melodic death, thrash, doom and black metal projects collectively. Songwriting split between original drummer Tommi Ilmanen and guitarist Jaakko Riihimäki spoke to an auld ideation of sophisticate death metal work, splitting the songwriting duties in both even and uneven strokes in approach of a debut LP (‘Only Ashes Remain‘, 2020) that’d essentially modernized the core impulse of early 90’s melodic black/death metal via brutality and clashing strands of guitar driven work. Ilmanen, who departed the band before their second LP was written/completed, often tended toward something akin to Alf Svensson‘s less intricate pieces for two rhythm guitars whereas the duo of guitarists (including Aleksi Luukka beyond 2015) songcraft leaned toward bigger, heavier grooves and pieces which gathered around brutal walls of riff as the focal point. As I’d remarked when covering ‘Abhorrent Dimensions‘ in 2022 it’d felt like the identity of the band had overturned, re-prioritized its focus to the latter path toward a style of death metal which was both brutally achieved yet inherently melodic and less prone to chaotic technical movements.

The bristling wall of noise that’d crushed through the bulk of ‘Abhorrent Dimensions‘ was incredible and today returning to their the sinister dramatism of songs like “Graveyard Lanterns” and the senses-bursting trample of “Among the Wretched Columns” still brings that same thrill a few years later. That’d more-or-less been what type of expectations’d been set for this new material going forward, loud as shit but tactical in its strike as the band appeared to transition naturally in this direction with a new drummer in tow. That said I would pivot expectations for ‘Crimson Moon Evocations‘ toward something closer to Sulphur Aeon‘s ‘Swallowed by the Ocean’s Tide‘ where punishingly loud blackened death and heavy melodic death metal rhythms (see also: Intestine Baalism‘s ‘Banquet in the Darkness‘) are beset, or, offset entirely by the strong melodic context they’d serve. Sepulchral Curse haven’t plainly iterated upon their previous album here beyond some aesthetic choices, but they are still leaning into propulsive fidelity as much as they can without erasing the impact of this melodious inner-birth.

For the weathered black and death metal fandom among us this type of change might naturally suggest some manner of “gothic” or romanticist lilt to the melody (and lyrics) in question but as we pass through the blasting introductions of “Wildfires” and key single “House of the Black Moon” it becomes clear that these pieces are aiming for the scrawling menace of possession and command rather than wilting Blake or Keats-copped abyssgazing. Vocalist Kari Kankaanpää (ex-Solothus) is a weapon in this sense as the unflinching pit of roaring contempt whose presence keeps these pieces from falling into sweet or overly sentimental territory in between the hotter blasted sections featuring in most songs. “House of the Black Moon” is not the only high point on the full listen but it is well chosen as an early album feature which doubly yanks back the veil beyond the opener, indulging in guitar solo trade-offs and bass guitar breaks as the band appear to pull out all the stops for this feature song.

In producing what is essentially a ten-ton meloblack-death bulldozer the ~40 or so minutes ahead are prone to push the listener beyond their own profundity before any one given complex thread can reach a point of familiarity, an aspect which’d plagued the high-count riffcraft and buzzing enthuse of the two albums previous. What ‘Crimson Moon Evocations‘ does to temper this effect is slow the development of interplay between their chain-gunned rhythm section and the thousand-layered guitars in action, leaving space between vocal tirade and blasting wrath to allow the subtleties of their work to pierce through with solemn and foreboding muse. “Beneath the Dismal Tides” does this best overall and thanks to an almost ‘South of Heaven‘ feeling downturn to help round out the more mid-paced feature of the song.

Speaking of the rhythm section the kicks on this album are huge and up front with their clobber and this doesn’t come across very well per the compression of YouTube or whatever where the render of the drums instead sounds somewhat modern/kinda tech-death (re: Stortregn or similar) as the reality isn’t so flat beyond the snare. Either way as we pass into songs like closer “Crimson Passage” and “Empress of the Dead” which feel aimed more toward early Swedish blackened melodic death in some of their guitar work the lead guitars either survive the mix by harmonized layers or are kinda squashed by the heft of the band’s all-in together sound. This isn’t a complaint on my end but rather a distinctive dynamic which speaks to what I’d consider a lineage of interesting brutal-yet-melodic ideals explored since the late 90’s. What makes this vision potentially more interesting than other names I could certainly drop is the serious-faced dramatic tension involved, the weight of melodic ideas pulled from black/death metal’s darker tides which makes for none (or, next to none) of the bouncier melodeath major key heavy metal side of things and a strong focus on aggression even at thier most melodramatic. “The Currents of Chaos” offers a fine enough example of how both the ruthless attack of the band and the placement of the lead guitars in the mix creates a unique ear-gouging harmony when sufficient space is provided. Side B thrives on this dynamic through ’til the end.

For my own taste Sepulchral Curse have done an incredible job of finding their own distinction in pursuing their own nowadays vision of the classic melodic black/death metal standard and while they’ve nixed some of the more technical rhythmic chaos of earlier releases here we find a band with a voice, a loud and deranged command of its own personae and easily grasped forms. Beyond touching upon qualities found in some of my favorite extreme metal they’ve also delivered cannon fire in terms of impact, a record which relentlessly punches out its rhythms and manages to balance this with sonorous and violent melodic interest. ‘Crimson Moon Evocations‘ isn’t so much the best of both worlds but an admirable container which can handle the voluminous, elementally struck expanse of their third iterative ideation after ten years in action. It should be seen as a notable achievement in holistic ideation beyond their already impactful work and a best-yet realization of their efforts. A high recommendation.

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