House of Curses ‘House Of Curses’
Para Records
Life Metal
Hailing from Alabama, House of Curses are beginning to forge their own path within the life metal scene with their eponymous release. This release has a huge modern sound to it and even in its rawest form, the House of Curses formula has the potential to push the band to the forefront of modern metal with its slick sound, aggressive guitars, harsh to clean emotional vocals and captivating breakdowns.
To achieve this sound, House of Curses have taken the catchy melodic hooks from big alternative metal bands such as Sevendust and the recent output from In Flames, mixed it with the muddy, dark undercurrent of Deftones to create their own hybrid that on paper shouldn’t work, but just listening to this work is enough to know that it does work. Tracks such as ‘I Do’, ‘Cut All Ties’ and ‘Hex’d’ take a nod to 90’s grunge nostalgia with an aggressive punk flair which manages to flatter without direct imitation. This raw power is juxtaposed by a sulky melancholic swagger on tracks like ‘8’ and ‘Lucky Stars’ which capture the two sides to this EP perfectly.
As enjoyable as ‘House of Curses’ is, the songs are a little immemorable. However, this EP provides an excellent foundation stone for the band to grow and expand into their debut album. There is no doubt that in the future House of Curses have the potential to become multi-platinum selling machine.
73/100
Adam McCann
