SEPULCHRAL CURSE – Abhorrent Dimensions

RELEASE YEAR: 2024

BAND URL: https://sepulchralcurse.bandcamp.com/

After my glowing review of Sepulchral Curse’s debut, Only Ashes Remain²⁰²⁰, I anticipated even greater things to come from these Finnish blackened death metallers on their follow up and, sure enough, Abhorrent Dimensions²⁰²³, released on CD on October 27th 2 years ago however, hear me out, on limited edition vinyl last March 30th (which gives me a right to post this review this year), that album, released via Transcending Obscurity Records, is simply fantastic, everything that made the debut great, up a notch, and, mind you, while I was sleeping on reviewing this album for almost two years, the band had already released their third album, Crimson Moon Evocations²⁰²⁵, the first for Dark Descent Records, one I hope I can get my hands on to review at some point.

As for Abhorrent Dimensions²⁰²³, straight to the point, the album is simply all killer no filler. Sure, the profoundly Novembers Doomish “The Serpents of Uncreation” may be easily my favorite, but that climate of absolute horror you may get from reading H.P. Lovecraft, or my favorite, Preston & Child Pendergast novels, as you contemplate the possibilities of creatures that defy logic and physics in parallel universes, that is what you get from, to use a laughable understatement, the unnerving “Graveyard Lanterns”. In fact, that one may be actually be my favorite for that reason alone, but the Mastodonic, Panterish or Slayeric, or that old boy Asphyx riffs don’t hurt the judgment, either. You would think it was easy for most death metal bands to sound, well, like death, but Sepulchral Curse, which has always been Kari Kankaanpää (lead vocals), Niilas Nissilä (bass, backing vocals), Jaakko Riihimäki (guitars), but currently are joined by Aleksi Luukka (2015-guitars) and , a change from the last album, Johannes Rantala (2022-drums) really get this genre through and through.

And yet, they are far from a one trick pony. We all know death metal can be both slow and fast and still qualify and so do they, just like that melody, well placed and not overwhelming, is not an enemy of the genre but an ally, thus “Stagnant Waters” (what a misnomer!), which may be their catchiest song, yet, something, perhaps, under somebody else’s fingers may even pass for melodeath, but, in this case, is still just death metal with melody. And remember, too, the black, as in blackened death metal, which that track makes you painfully and gleefully aware of.

On their second album, Sepulchral Curse not only show no signs of sophomore slump, but actually signal the same as Ulcerate, Immolation, or Hypocrisy did: you ain’t heard nothing yet! May that continue to be the motto for their every next album. Now, to get my hands on Crimson Moon Evocations²⁰²⁵!