Acursed

There’s a reason Acursed thank only three bands in the liner notes for Tunneln I ljusets slut. The direct influence Ken, Discharge and His Hero Is Gone have on these 15 blasts of mid-’90s hardcore-meets-death metal is indisputable. Thankfully, it’s also one of the most abrasive, powerful and innovative takes on personal muses the metal community has seen in years. Detuned guitars dole out beefy, up-tempo riffs with precision despite sounding as though they were recorded in a tin can; drum beats are an exercise in physical fitness, as each empty space is flooded with cymbal crashes and tom fills; and the vocals might have well just been a ripped speaker feeding back endlessly. The band’s inherent low-end rumble overtakes everything, creating a doom-y atmosphere that is bleak and forlorn, accented by occasional voiceovers and acoustic passages to ensure that the end result is dynamic, not ineffectual background noise. Sludgy at times, and overbearing at others, the vehemence of Acursed’s performance on Tunneln I ljusets slut is striking.