Sometimes moving forward necessitates a step back ? ?progression through unlearning,? as Snapcase once titled an album. In the musical sense, it?s moving ahead by recovering the same sounds and ideals that inspired the pioneers of any given genre, and raucous Canadian outfit Cursed puts those concepts to good use on III: Architects of Troubled Sleep ? their latest release for Ontario noise rock label Goodfellow Records.
III completes the quartet?s abrasive trilogy of almost-retro metallic hardcore and sees the band at its best, churning out 34 minutes of some of the most ferocious music ever put to tape. Flowing in the same vein as 2003?s One and 2005?s Two, III presents itself as yet another ideal soundtrack for burning down your local mini-mall or capitol building.
The production on III ? which typifies the Cursed sound ? is dense and raw, courtesy of board work from the likes of Alan Douches, and the cover art, conceived by Baroness? John Baizley, has yet to break from the minimalist black and white palette the band has religiously employed since its first release.
After a brief intro in which unidentified voices utter paranoid lines such as ?The only thing we have to fear is not enough fear,? the band launches at full speed into ?Night Terrors? and ?Magic Fingers? ? their gritty tone and frenetic approach setting the general framework for the remainder of the album as Christian McMaster?s guitar slashes through the rhythm section in a furious fashion.
The album hits the brakes slightly on ?Friends in the Music Business,? and its sludgy riffing and depth-charge bass fades out with vocalist Chris Colohan repeatedly snarling, ?Don?t call me ? I won?t call you? over a wall of feedback and drums. But even in drowsier songs like ?Friends? and the album?s title track, Cursed exhibits a sense of urgency ? as if the apocalypse is already upon us, and everyone but the band is blissfully unaware.
Lyrically, Colohan?s bleak, dystopian rants point fingers at many of the usual suspects, such as the church, government, corporate America (or Canada), the music industry, social conformity and so on. But these diatribes are delivered with such force and conviction that III?s message proves just as crucial as the music itself. As Colohan growls, ?Show me your city plans/ I?ll show you angry hands/ Selling the urban dream one locked door at a time/ This is what air-conditioned nightmares are made of? on ?Into the Hive,? it?s clear that his anger isn?t merely decoration.
Much of III?s unbridled fury echoes the passionate, reckless abandon that characterized such influential hardcore and metal acts as Black Flag, Discharge and Deadguy. Just as those groups raged against consumerism, glam metal and the Reagan and Bush administrations, Cursed vents its hatred toward the powers that be and shuns the social stepladder and much of the technological world in which we?ve become immersed.
But that?s not to say that the music community has shunned Cursed. The band seems to strike a resonant chord among musicians, fans and critics alike for its stripped-down approach and flat-out ability to rock, and III will undoubtedly garner Cursed even more acclaim as well as a multitude of ?top album? nominations for 2008. I?ve been jamming this in my car for a good portion of the last week and have nearly ripped my steering wheel off several times out of sheer adrenaline due to tracks like ?Magic Fingers? and ?Antihero Resuscitator.?
At the same time, III won?t appeal to everyone. A certain level of masochism is required to enjoy this at extremely high volumes, but the pain is invariably worth it. Cursed offers up an album that is a much-needed antithesis to the surplus of heavy bands plaguing the music scene, seemingly more concerned with the number of MySpace friends that they have and the direction their hair swoops rather than with the direction of the music itself.
Maybe the reason Cursed?s approach works so well is that they really don?t seem to give a shit whether you or anyone else likes them, yet they?re still churning out top-notch material on a consistent basis. It?s rewarding for anyone who?s willing to venture a listen, but if you do, you?d be best advised to hold onto your seat.
4 1/2 stars out of 5
