Cursed (Another Century) hits a lot harder than Wyoming Metalcore quintet Righteous Vendetta’s past works, such as the Lawless (Red Cord) album and the Defiance EP (Street Smart). Sadly, though, it is an album that falls short of their promising reputation, and, yes, it is a heavy album, but upping the ante seems to have cost them their originality.

Across the 13 tracks it is clear that Ryan Hayes’ vocals have improved a lot in the past years; he adds an abundance of clean vocals alongside some truly impressive deep growls. Lead guitarist Justin Olmstead shreds the strings with every powerful solo, while the newest member Justin Smith, who replaced Carl Heiman in 2016, keeps the tempo going on rhythm guitar. Accompanied with Riley Haynie’s heavy bass riffs, and Zack Goggins’ fast-paced drumming, easily makes this their most aggressive outing. However, tracks like P.O.D. throwback ‘Burn’, do not match quality to intensity.

It’s not all negative; songs like ‘War Is Killing Us All’ and ‘Psycho’ are worth the pick-up for a playlist, and Cursed is an enjoyable listen overall, but it’s no album of the year.

5.0/10

TIM STEBBINS