"It's hard to shake comparisons to your past bands and what they're known for," says Cursed singer Chris Colohan on the trials and tribulations of escaping the legacy of their near-legendary previous incarnation, the Swarm. Formed in late 2001, Cursed have quickly established themselves as one of Canada's bright hopes in the metallic underground. With only a self-released demo and limited touring, Cursed cemented a ferocious reputation that has seen them sign to heavyweight Deathwish Inc.'s formidable roster, who quickly released their debut, One.
Although Cursed's previous incarnation as the Swarm was together for a brief three years, and delivered only a handful of releases, their reputation as of one of the Canadian underground's most important hardcore bands remains. Just as the Swarm, formed from the ashes of the equally infamous Left For Dead, faced challenges based on their past legacy, Cursed are finding that it's not always easy to escape your past, or its expectations.
"Cursed doesn't really sound all that much like the Swarm; it is a different band, and while I understand the need to label us based on our previous bands, it gives the people who come to see us the wrong idea," according to guitarist Christian McMaster. "It's not really what most hardcore kids expect to see, but it's what we want to do," Colohan adds. While they're continually struggling to escape the stigma of the Swarm version 2.0, musically, with One, Cursed have fired the opening salvo to establishing their own equally important legacy. Gone are the blazingly fast and simplistic rampages of the past, replaced with what Colohan refers to as "well constructed, driving, loud music" that owes more to the metallic death and roll of Entombed than any power-violence or hardcore band. "We're learning how to use less to make more noise," Colohan says. "And we're learning that intensity is more than going as fast as you can, or how many times you say fuck you' per song."
Although Cursed's previous incarnation as the Swarm was together for a brief three years, and delivered only a handful of releases, their reputation as of one of the Canadian underground's most important hardcore bands remains. Just as the Swarm, formed from the ashes of the equally infamous Left For Dead, faced challenges based on their past legacy, Cursed are finding that it's not always easy to escape your past, or its expectations.
"Cursed doesn't really sound all that much like the Swarm; it is a different band, and while I understand the need to label us based on our previous bands, it gives the people who come to see us the wrong idea," according to guitarist Christian McMaster. "It's not really what most hardcore kids expect to see, but it's what we want to do," Colohan adds. While they're continually struggling to escape the stigma of the Swarm version 2.0, musically, with One, Cursed have fired the opening salvo to establishing their own equally important legacy. Gone are the blazingly fast and simplistic rampages of the past, replaced with what Colohan refers to as "well constructed, driving, loud music" that owes more to the metallic death and roll of Entombed than any power-violence or hardcore band. "We're learning how to use less to make more noise," Colohan says. "And we're learning that intensity is more than going as fast as you can, or how many times you say fuck you' per song."
