What do you get when you combine the dissonant guitar of Black Metal with the ungodly guttural growls of Death Metal? The answer is SEPULCHRAL CURSE and their second EP At the Onset of Extinction (December 15, Transcending Obscurity Records). I went into this one not knowing what to expect, but that was the fun part. Plus that fucking cover art is the stuff my dreams are made of (Please be on a T-Shirt at some point, PLEASE!). You see, I often dream of watching cities burn, so this cover spoke volumes to me. But enough of that, let’s get into the music, whaddaya say?
The first track “Envisioned In Scars” has death growls that will cave your head in then feast on your brains, while the music beats you in a way that is akin to Joe Pesci getting hit with baseball bats in Casino over and over again. “In Purifying Essence” just steamrolls over you with meaty, dirty riffs and blast beats, while “Gospel of Bones” definitely has some Black Metal leanings as it becomes more and more lethal. Closing this thing is the monolithic, nine-minute epic “Disrupting Lights of Extinction,” a song that is equal parts slow, deliberate, and methodical, like a crazed killer chasing you with a scalpel in thigh-deep snow.
Listen, when it’s all said and done At the Onset of Extinction is a fantastic EP from a band that really blew me away the minute I heard them. SEPULCHRAL CURSE has done an excellent job with this one, and if they ever decide to do a full-length album I’ll be first in line to pick it up. And when this record releases next week you all owe it to yourselves to go out and buy it so you can rip someone’s face off and wear it to work the next day. Oh…did I say that out loud? Whoops…
STANDOUT TRACKS: ALL OF THEM
RATING: 4.5/5
