Band – Sepulchral Curse
Album – Abhorrent Dimensions
Country of Origin – Finland
Genre – Death Metal
Release Date – October 27, 2023
Label – Transcending Obscurity Records
Author – Hayduke X
It’s fair to say that we love Sepulchral Curse here at MoshPitNation. I certainly do, and I know that I’m not the only one on the team who feels this way. Back in 2020, I reviewed Only Ashes Remain, which you can read here. I’ve mostly kept up with EPs both before and in-between albums as well. If they’ve released a bad song, I haven’t heard it. For these reasons, I’m absolutely thrilled to present a full album stream of Abhorrent Dimensions, the band’s sophomore full-length, which is out this Friday through Transcending Obscurity Records. I’ll let you get right to the music, but then jump below the player for my full review.
There are many death metal hybrids going these days: technical death, black-death, progressive death, avant garde death, death doom, and so on. The list of hybrid styles is long and varied. Sepulchral Curse is none of these (there is occasionally a little blackening – tremolo picking – in the riffs, but not nearly enough to call it a hybrid). Instead, the band has perfected the art of playing DEATH METAL!!!! They compose such perfect death metal songs that they don’t need to hybridize their sound, though they do add nuance in small doses, in appropriate places.
The current lineup starts up front with Kari Kankaanpää on vocals. I’m not generally much of a fan of death growls, but Kankaanpää hits them perfectly. They are not understandable to me, but they work well as another vicious instrument in the mix. Jaakko Rïïhimäki and Aleksi Luukka share guitar duties, and wow, do they ever know their way around some riffs! The riffs, as is so often the case with quality death metal, are varied, interesting, and stick with you for days afterwards. On the back end, Niilas Nissilä on bass (also backing vocals) and Johannes Rantala on drums do more than create a solid foundation. They are an avalanche of power, crushing the souls of all listeners.
Abhorrent Dimensions is a dense, brutal attack, like getting jumped in an alley and left for dead. And yet, the album has nuance and dimension. The production is clean, allowing all parts to be heard clearly, but is not pretty. The album is an exemplar of modern death metal, no more, no less. The next time someone asks you to explain what death metal sounds like, just play them this album. They will likely be hooked. I know I am.
The album can be pre-ordered through the Transcending Obscurity Bandcamp page or the label website.
Biography: Hayduke X has been writing for MoshPitNation since June of 2016. He is also a contributor to The Metal Wanderlust. Prior to joining the MoshPitNation team, Hayduke published reviews on his own blog Rage and Frustration. In addition, he has DJ’ed an online metal radio show of the same name as his blog, written for TOmetal.com, done interviews for Metal Rules, and collaborated with The Art of B Productions to create video interviews with a wide variety of bands.
