A two-piece outfit with experience across other Finnish acts like Oceanwake, Atlases, and Verso, what we have here in I, Cursed is a definite diversion from the previous units. Choosing to combine the deadly force of grindcore against death metal, they spent most of 2023 establishing themselves through a series of singles and a split release with Blood Service leading up to the newest EP Death Holograms. These hard-hitting tracks whirl by in blitzkrieg fashion – four of the seven not even reaching the two-minute mark to achieve ultimate brutality of the most intense kind.
Every second contains this cauldron of ripping riffs, deep bass tones, as well as mid-tempo to blast beat-oriented drumming which allow Eero Haula to vocally slide from these dark, hellish bellows into blood curdling screams that melt faces. Certain songs come from the early death metal landscape where a bit of doom-filled atmosphere takes shape – yet the bulk of this material treads the HM-2 / Swedish grind textbook that was a premiere part of the 90s/2000’s movement. Ville-Veikko Laaksonen has aggressive tendencies in his low-tuned guitar work, fleshing out his riffs and chord structures with additional feedback or quick dynamic nuances that keep you listening for the smaller details. Check out the runs in “Merge Into a Caustic Revocation” or opener “A Gathering of Immense” that will get those hearts racing as the best death/grindcore arrangements should achieve. By the time closer “Vermin” finishes the EP, its tribal march feel going toe to toe against more furious, shape-shifting death/doom musical activities, most listeners will need to replenish their collective energy that’s been expended adequately.
Even the cover art is very similar to the musical style put forth by I, Cursed – basic and simplified without losing the main impetus behind the band. Death Holograms has a lot of good things going for it – especially those who still savor the catalogs of Rotten Sound, Nasum, and Coldworker.