Finnish black metallers Curse Upon A Prayer are back with their second album, Rotten Tongues, and what an album it is!
Quite simply, Rotten Tongues is an absolutely excellent listen, and what’s good is that Curse Upon A Prayer don’t just stick to one rigid style. There’s plenty of fantastic in-your-face black metal that is fast-paced and full of momentum, and there is also tracks with more of a melodoom tinge to them which adds a good amount of variation to the album.
With opening track The Distant Chaos grabbing your attention as soon as the drum and bass kick in, followed not long after by the guitars and vocals, Curse Upon A Prayer then continue to maintain your interest as the track progresses and moves into following track Death Sentence, which is more of a slower-paced and doomier song packed with heavy melodies. The album continues much in the same way, divided up nicely with a peppering of melody here and there, with the slower songs giving the listener a bit of a ‘break’ between the punchy and hard-hitting faster numbers.
Divinus Mortis is another high point, featuring a particularly powerful and meaty vocal performance and crushingly heavy instrumentation, and the crashing drums at the end are incredible, finishing things off with a bang. It’s one of those tracks you’ll find yourself listening to over and over – it really gets stuck in your head!
Rotten Tongues is an album you won’t want to miss. Versatile and chock-full of originality – what’s not to like?
9/10
