Setting out with some hefty tribal drumming and a slow, burning riff, you know what’s coming from Curse of the North: I (Static Tension), the second album from Seattle marauders Curse of the North. Almost. It’s easy to expect lumpen Stoner, yet what bursts forth in the second movement of opener and single ‘Sleep While You Can’ is a rampant blast of Blues-infused Trad metal, electrified by intricate riffs and solos.
Christiaan Morris’ leadplay in the ensuing ‘Wheel of Swords’ is Angus Young-like and ushers in more melodic bludgeon, only marginally let down by a plodding centrepiece which tests the limits of Morris’ throaty roar. The delicate acoustic of ‘Into the Trees’ is initially reminiscent of The Electric Boys and allows Morris to show a gentle, harmonic side to his voice which evokes the first time you heard James Hetfield attempt the same tack: whilst the savage parts of this stirring track’s second segment bring to mind the rhythmic explosions of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Babe I’m Gonna Leave You’.
Despite the frayed edges of Morris’ able, yet unspectacular and flawed larynx there’s a real life here: the melodies mixing with the fearsome intensity borne from the staggering drumming of Burke Thomas and those slashing, clubbing riffs. The occasionally lightning-fast ‘The Tower’ has a Punk-like vibe shot through with lightly dancing leadwork: whilst the versatile rise-and-fall of ‘The Electric Wall’ remains beset by periods of wonderfully brutal yet tuneful savagery. It’s this delightful reliance on a bedrock of supremely executed speed that gives the sound its refreshing spark. ‘Blessed Burning’s moody verses are lit up by greasy riffs and those pummelling, dictatorial drums, also adding omen to the jangling leads injecting lightness and melancholy into the ferocious groove of ‘Oceans Rise’.
The pensive feel reaches its apex alongside Morris’ vocal in the hulking, brooding closer ‘Faceless Killers’; the fathomless whisper of its verses exploding into a vicious yet maudlin crush which is illuminated by sparkling yet understated soloing. This instrumentation is both the impetus and effervescence of a highly enjoyable offering, an infectious battering ram of brute force, subtlety and creativity.
7.0/10.0
PAUL QUINN