Formed in 2012 as a Mexican-Turkish alliance, Sacrocurse’s sole aim was to lay waste to metal’s most bestial underground hordes. This they seemingly did with the ‘Sulphur Blessing’ demo in 2013, followed by a split with Canada’s Trajeto de Cabro. Come 2014 though, and the band has become a uniquely Mexican affair, consisting of sole founding member ZK on guitars and vocals, with LZ on drums for this, their debut record. While it may be tempting to see both line-up and geographical similarities with Colombia’s two-man Inquisition, Sacrocurse proves to be a far more singular entity in its musical approach.
From the rancid guitars, blasting drums and scream on ‘Sepulchural Desolation’, we get a pretty clear indication of what Sacrocurse is all about: carnage. The deathly timbre of ZK’s vocals is surrounded by a storm of fiery, buzzing riffs and relentless blasts, accentuated by cymbal taps to provide an authentically underground feel. Even a slower section sandwiched between hellish solos and rumbling bass breaks fails to diminish the utterly ripping nature of the opener – inspired as it is by the likes of Morbid Angel, Sarcofago and everything equally cult in between. Such madness is obviously not restricted to the start though. ‘All Existence Perishes’ breaks out with another nutty riff, scream and descent into the abyss… A pleasing aspect to Sacrocurse compared to other similar bands I’ve come across is how the drumming lives up to the rest of the crazed instrumentation. It’s hard to count how many let downs I’ve experienced with warmongering outfits who content themselves with subpar percussion.
Perhaps the greatest compliment I can pull from my scribbles while listening along to track three is the following: “spiteful riffs and warped solo create a general aura of uncompromisingness that brings to mind Pete Helmkamp’s CV.” Okay, so Sacrocurse don’t attain the heights of OFC let alone Angelcorpse. However, there is a similar strand of unrelenting brutality which underlines the magnetic charm of extreme metal. Take the blistering ‘Oath for Eternal Damnation’, and its excellent tempo change midway through, if you will. This sudden shift bundles the listener, like an innocent virgin, into a temple in front of some unnaturally large goat fellow to be ritually sacrificed by his brain dead disciples. If that didn’t make any sense, the point is this: the music here, like any great metal should, grips you with violent force. When they’re not pummelling away, a range of blackened grooves – some of which are characteristically South American – keep you firmly locked in hell.
In line with the band’s staunchly underground aesthetic is the closing number ‘End of Mankind Universe’. Foregoing the typical epic closer route, Sacrocurse lays waste to the listener’s eardrums one final time with two-and-a-half minutes of feral invocations and head-banging fury. With such evidence in mind, ‘Unholier Master’ will obviously not be everybody’s cup of tea. On the other hand, it is an authentically crafted, hammering statement of intent that melds the death/black genres into a burning metallic heap of destruction. Metal at its purest, you could say, and what it lacks in subtlety, it repays with scorn for expecting anything so puny.
(8/10 Jamie)
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