Year: 2025
Label: Dark Descent Records
There’s a bit of a death metal revival going on in Finland. A lot of new bands are popping up, many of them with young musicians; some are still in their teens, some are in their early twenties. Either way, young guys injecting a welcome dose of youthful energy both into the scene and the music. The best of it is that these youngsters obviously know their death metal, basing their sound on very traditional elements. It’s always a delight to hear and especially see them.
Sepulchral Curse could be seen as a forebear to these bands. Founded already in 2013, the band from Turku certainly predates the Finnish death metal resurgence. All of the members are also considerably older; born before 1990, none of them are exactly youngsters anymore. However, their debut album, 2020’s Only Ashes Remains, coincides with about the time aforementioned younger bands started to crawl out of the woodwork. I don’t think you can fairly say Sepulchral Curse doesn’t have a role – some role – in the resurgence.
Sepulchral Curse’s sound can be described as bound to tradition in many ways, but there’s far more to Crimson Moon Evocations than cookie cutter old school death metal. For one, its black metal elements. Encyclopedia Metallum describes Sepulchral Curse as blackened death metal, but I think that’s going a bit too far. This is clearly death metal, and doesn’t stray into hybrid territory a’la Belphegor. It’s more in the dark atmospheres that this element is heard than in in the music itself, even though some of the shredding riffs do lean in a decidedly black direction
Even if it isn’t too prominent in the music itself, this blackness does define Crimson Moon Evocation to a surprisingly large extent. This is dark, gloomy death metal without going into death/doom territory, either. (It’s also way too speedy for that.) The dark, crimson cover actually pretty perfectly embodies the feel of the music: apocalyptic, black, oppressive.
Musically, considering the dense, brooding atmosphere, Crimson Moon Evocation gets even surprisingly melodic from time to time. There are plenty of melodic riffs and passages, and they don’t hint in the direction of old school Finnish death metal. Crimson Moon Evocations never reaches Gothenburg sound levels of melodicism, but the Swedish ilk of melodic death metal is where I see Sepulchral Curse’s melodic riffs leaning.
This creates a pretty interesting musical concoction. A solid backbone in traditional, dark death metal, laced with prominent melodic elements and gloomy black metal atmospherics. Whilst perhaps not exactly a unique sound, it’s not one you come across every day. Add to this Kari Kankaanpää’s deep, cavernous growls, and you’ve got yourself a slab of heavy darkness.
Which is why it’s kind of sad I can’t, in full honesty, be completely enthusiastic about the album. It nails the sound, the aesthetic and the atmosphere. The production is a hit as well: this album sounds heavy, dark and big. However, this is where the album falls short: memorable songs.
There are good riffs strewn across the album, a couple of nice melodies, and so on, but none of the tracks as a whole make a lasting impression. This is a shame. But perhaps even a bit surprisingly, it’s not as fatal a flaw as one could imagine. As a whole, the album is still very competent and enjoyable, and manages to stand thanks to the intensity of the atmosphere.
But still: it’s lacking those killer tracks.
The end result is an album that sort of impresses three quarters of the way, but that last flourish is missing. I’m left with oddly conflicted emotions about Crimson Moon Evocations. I really like the sound and style. But on the other hand, I’m left with a vague sensation of, I dunno, incomplete satisfaction. I don’t want to say I find the album unsatisfying or lacking, because neither of those are true. But I am left a bit wanting.
Only Death Is Real 