Infernum - The Curse (Sound Riot, 2006)

For the record Infernum are not a bad band, they’re simply content dabbling with ‘tried-and-true’ formulas rather than straying far into uncharted territories and I must say that this is a prudent decision nonetheless but don’t expect high scores in the originality department. That being said, Infernum’s plodding, ritualistic brand of black relies more on creating elongated, menacing soundscapes rather than mind-numbing the listener with excessive blasting; quite enjoyable but not particularly engaging. The keyboards that are in abundance plus the female vocals and male narratives bolster the album’s ritualistic atmosphere. After the eldritch-minus-innovative intro the title-song follows through, mostly comprised of simple three-chord riffs subtly reminiscent of early Samael atmospherics laid against an eerily melodic keyboard-driven musical background. Blasting through at higher speeds, “Storm Rider” effectively meshes fast-tempo rhythms with the brooding melody of Hellenic black’s most renowned exports or even Mortuary Drape’s more claustrophobic works. Reverting back to slower themes, “The Crock Of The Gold” and “Pagan” harmonically engage in a more epic template of sorts with an interesting touch of both female and male narratives. Not before long and five seconds into the final song before the outro, I’m looking for the accompanying booklet just to make sure that I’m not listening to a “Freezing Moon” cover. Needless to say, Epitaph’s intro riff is strikingly reminiscent of Mayhem’s signature track but nonetheless it closes quite painlessly before the outro bids us farewell. To sum it up, I can’t say that this is a necessarily ‘stand-out’ album, but they do make a good first impression.

(originally written for Tartarean Desire - 2006?)