Rotten Sound - Cursed

Rotten Sound has been gracious enough to write an album with zero filler, so I will comply with a review in kind.

From the first seconds of opening track “Alone”, Cursed (Relapse, 2011) demands you get up and move. Run a mile, chop down a tree, catch your breath during a breakdown, then punch your neighbor in the face. Songs have two speeds: artillery burst grind or death march groove. The production is dry, but that hardly takes away from the ferocious attack. Riffs are a wall of sound but discernable and clear, while the drums sit just right in the mix for a flawless foundation. Keijo Niinimaa is in full Barney Greenway mode, vitriol dripping off every barked word. Guest vocalists and lead guitarists pop up throughout, but never alter Rotten Sound’s battle plan. In a year full of grind releases, they are daring anyone to knock the chip off their shoulders.

Grindcore is easy to do, but far more difficult to do right. That Rotten Sound can craft a perfect album almost 20 years into their career is incredible. Cursed should serve as reminder to their contemporaries, to all of us, that fresh meat is out there. It’s all in how you grind it.

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HEAR CURSED

– Full album stream –

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BUY CURSED

Amazon (MP3)
Amazon (CD)
CM Distro (CD, LP)
Relapse (CD, LP, shirt)

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