Out Now
Words by Kris Peters
There must be something in the beer up here in Queensland, because the amount of quality metal releases coming out of the state, and Brisbane in particular, is staggering.
Next up is Morana’s Curse with their debut self-titled EP and, although this will be my first listen to the band, their pedigree alone should ensure a happy listen.
Opening with As Above So Below, things instantly kick you in the guts with a nice guitar-driven intro with a couple of intricate passages that quickly clear into the beautiful and sultry voice of their lead vocalist who appears to lull proceedings somewhat before all hell breaks loose and the guitars kick back in and a demonically harsh version of former beauty decimates the sonic landscape and then retreats from whence it came to leave the placid and subdued former tenant back in charge.
This is definitely an unexpected yet welcome opening salvo from a band unafraid to experiment, especially so early in their career. The contrasting vocals continue throughout, adding a depth and underlying sense of menace that only dissipates as the song draws to a close.
Blood Moon washes in on the back of some nice piano notes and chugging guitars with the harsh vocals barking orders in the background. Once more the tracks eases to life amid a soft underbelly, but you sense the terror within is lurking somewhere in the shadows.
And there it is, right on cue.
I haven’t got enough of the linear notes to know if this is a separate vocalist or in fact two sides of the musical coin from the clean singer but either way it is cool as fuck to listen to.
Even the music is sporadic in its delivery, constantly building to a crescendo before peeling back the layers to invite in the darkness. Well-constructed tempo changes abound and add to the whimsical feeling of longing that punctuates the regular descent into darkness.
Fire doesn’t so much explode out of the gun as much as it almost fires blanks in the opening salvo, but the gun must have been momentarily misfiring because the harsh vocals soon spit and growl in a different introduction than the previous clean lead tracks.
This doesn’t impact the severity of the harshness one bit, if anything it adds to its dominance as the entire track is now led by the evil forces of nature as drums thunder around the battle cry of “hey, hey, hey” that rise and fall with each passing breath.
The track takes a turn into the final stages, a constant drum pattern ushering in a tempered and calm passage that carries the song to conclusion and leaves enough doubt as to what direction the next song Infinite will take.
We don’t have to wait long to find out as symphonics and guitars combine for an even flow of instrumentalization before a brief passage of cleans ushers in the monster within and what sounds like two different harsh vocal deliveries carry us into the next phase.
Frenetic drumming ensues with a sporadically shifting guitar riff that splutters violently in select intervals that welcome some more cleans that now appear to be fighting for survival with the inherent ferocity delivered by way of harshness.
Maslenitsa (fuck knows what that even means) vibrates to life on the back of more guitars which very ably provide the sonic background to the EP. This tracks reeks of aggressive intent and wastes little time getting that point across with a swirling guitar-driven hook that slowly builds to an impactful crescendo of discontent that appears to be getting more restless with every track.
Next we take a journey down Shadow Road with an interestingly stuttering drum pattern over an eery landscape painting a sonic landscape of malevolent intent that is only accentuated by a softly whispered vocal intro that is quickly replaced by more urgent cleans that deliver a message of hope laced with sorrow.
The harshness soon returns but doesn’t have things all its own way this time as the track moves along nicely on the back of more well-placed drum patterns that introduce the nicer side of Morana’s Curse while still leaving enough space for the inner demon to unleash whenever the need arises.
Things quicken considerably as the song hurls to an epic finale that conjures all sorts of imagery of evil triumphing over good and for once that doesn’t necessarily feel like the wrong option.
Solstice closes the EP and I must say that so far this EP has delivered everything I expected and more.
Ending much as the EP began with a clean and almost angelic opening vocal salvo you can’t help but be swept up in the journey Morana’s Curse have created on this EP.
Saving the best for last Solstice is a hard-hitting track that regularly aims for the jugular and only lets go long enough to lull you into a false sense of security before ripping at the life force of nature with greater vigor.
An interesting mix of full-on heavy metal with symphonic beauty and everything in between, Morana’s Curse have created a remarkably brilliant EP that only justifies my earlier statement surrounding the wealth of talent coming out of Queensland.
Top effort!
