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Reviews of The Accursed - Straight from Hell demo
The Metal Gospel
www.metalgospel.com
E-zine (Germany)
Demo Review by Cheryl
(http://www.metalgospel.com/Reviews/tastraight.html)
I扉e known about this band for awhile having, for a brief time when I was living in the US, spent some time with their wild bassist at a few shows (George from the down to earth Unhallowed Print zine). This is their debut (I think) featuring some kick ass, ripping Death
Thrash with a wonderfully raw production that gives it the rough edge that many bands seem to try and polish away during the recording process. From the opening scorcher to the closing thrasher you are exposed to vicious scratchy, harsh vocals, back breaking riffage and excellent drumming. If you want some Extreme Metal that gives reason to headbang and party then you have to include THE ACCURSED in your collection. They also treat the listener to a killer cover of 'The Philosopher' by DEATH who happens to be one of their
influences. There are also some slight comparisons to earlier works of BEYOND THE EMBRACE here. No surprise since both bands come from the same State. Check them
out and prepare to be wrecked and Thrashed straight to you know where ! ;)
The Noise
Issue #236 November 2003
Live Review by Joe Hacking
Boston's Dead/O'Briens Allston, MA
October 2nd 2003
...Next up, The Accursed is producing a very busy type of metal. Speed is the name of the game, but its very intentional, sophisticated, decipherable with a careful ear. The compositions are frantic, but they know when to dismount the crazy machine they create with each song. There's old metal in these guys, brought to a musical/spiritual path that the old metal never chose. They're taking the best from first generation metal and plugging it into the ideas of the current thrash metal wave. This is a surgical strike, a carpet bombing, a merciless, deliberate collision The changes come faster than life in a third world country after a coup de tat. It's like watching a magic act, their hands are quicker than the eye. By the end of the set, they're a whirring blender of buzzing guitars and hyperactive drumming. The dicipline they display is inspiring.
Rockbottom
Issue #20 December 2003
Demo Review by Bill Jannusch
The Accursed is another excellent band I have the pleasure of reviewing this time around. This band from New Bedford, MA take the classic thrash/metal sound that I mentioned Havoc Hate displaying and tossing it into a molten melting pot with black metal and Morbid Angel style death-metal guitar and drum pyrotechnics, as well as Maiden-like guitar solos to forge a razor sharp metallic dagger! Put it on your disc player and prepare to be ruthlessly and mercilessly, viciously stabbed in the chest until your life slips away and all that is left is a bloody pile of eviscerated flesh and bone! The production isn't as top notch as say, Havoc Hate, but you won't care! It's still an excellent quality recording with great clarity. The music is actually that good! By the way, added point for extremely cool sounding guitar licks that keep this genre of death/thrash fresh sounding!!!
(Trancending The Mundane, December 2003)
This is the debut demo from New England thrash metallers the Accursed. Straight from Hell features eight tracks and approximately half an hour of old school thrash which is played very well and sounds good despite a demo quality production. Included is a short instrumental ("Autumns Twilight") and a cover of Death's "The Philosopher". A good indication of where the Accursed is coming from is to look at their influences which include Iron Maiden, Death, and Dissection. There are some Swedish influences, especially in the vocalist of Jonathan Helme (i.e. Satanic Slaughter, In Aeternum) and the guitar melodies (which are more Maiden inspired, which after all is where that Swedish melody originated anyway). Overall Straight from Hell serves its purpose as a demo. It exposes the Accursed as being a solid thrash metal band with great potential and a raw, unbridled energy and a surprising sense of professionalism. I'm sure it won't take long for a label to come knocking.
Album Score: 7 out of 10
Reviewed by: Brett VanPut
www.tmetal.com
(METAL MANIACS, APRIL 2003)
The Accursed - Straight From Hell This disc kills! I was blown away by the intensity and creativity this destructive eight-songer held onto for its nearly 30-minute lifespan. Torturous progressive death metal blended with blackened spears of demonic rebellion pushing to the surface. Founded by members of metalcore act Again Without Feeling and black metal band Imperial Darkness, the band seems ready to break out of their home in New Bedford, MA. Recorded with skill by Oscar Gouveia of Beyond the Embrace (who also throws in some cryptically beautiful axemanship on two of the songs), the record exhibits much talent and musical flexibility. Sheer head-pounding blastbeats and cackling death vocals in the realm of Burning Inside or Hateplow match head to head with intricate flow patterns found in the works of Carcass and Death, while the band actually covers the Death classic "The Philosopher." Much of the record, as modern as the songwriting is, still holds the vintage sound and feel of older thrash, just updated a bit and chopped up with other metal elements. Highlights of the record include "Aftermath of Sorrow," "The Black Thrash" and the eerie classical guitar piece, "Autumn's Twilight." These guys will get picked up by someone soon, that's for goddamn sure. Check them out now though, so if they get all big and shit, you can be the cool guy that heard them "back befre anyone knew who they were" or whatever. Or just check them out because they're actually a killer band with something to offer, which is more than you're gonna get with most bands these days. (written by Dave Brenner, Metal Maniacs Firing Squad, April 2003 issue)
(METAL CORE FANZINE)
THE ACCURSED/Straight From Hell - Killer death metal from Mass. Blistering riffs and just powerful sounds make this a crushing debut cd from this band. Spine tingling riffs and some great death metal vocals make this a winner. This totally blows away 99% of the other cds I get. This band should be signed right now. Yes, they are that damn good. (written by Chris Forbes, Metal Core Fanzine)
( Tenebrous Kingdom webzine)
The Accursed, a relatively new band from Massachusetts, come flying out of no-fucking-where with this eight song demo/album. This is my first exposure to them, so to say I was surprised by the quality of the demo and the songs therein is a severe understatement. The Accursed play a thrashy mixture of black and death metal, with strong, well-written songs all the way through and, apparently, the smarts to know what to use when. Very defined, powerful rhythms; blazing melodies that zip by you faster than the Enterprise; shredding, yet memorable solos that threaten to destroy your hearing -- all this and more, encapsulated within eight-songs. Of the seven original songs on Straight to Hell, one -- "Autumn's Twilight" -- is an acoustic instrumental which displays additional talent in the guitarist(s); and the eighth song (albeit not the last track) is a cover of Death's "The Philosopher." All of the songs showcase the abilities of the involved musicians as well as they intensity with which they can deliver their music, but the original songs are what shine the brightest here. Their Death cover is amazing, quite on par with the original song itself, don't get me wrong -- but I'd prefer to expound on the tracks The Accursed wrote. The six metal songs on here are, for the most part, lightning fast and supremely intense, displaying a real sort of energy a lot of releases seem to be missing, of late. Opener "To Live on Borrowed Time" starts out swiftly with a build-up guitar line, leading into those aforementioned killer rhythms and, later on, a maniacal solo, with Mr. Helme (vocals) screaming until I'm sure his throat feels like someone took a belt sander to it. "The Black Thrash" lives up to its name, with very thrashy riffs and beefy drumming carrying the tune, another fine solo making your ears bleed. Next is "Aftermath of Sorrow," another blitzkrieg track featuring some needle-like lead lines and a melodic solo that's still stuck in my head. "Worlds Divide" has a catchy rhythm around the chorus, the drums lending to it as well -- I'm sure this one is a crowd pleaser at shows, inciting massive headbanging; the melodic guitars in this one give it a slight edge and uniqueness among the other tracks, which primarily seem rhythm-based and therefore slightly chunkier, if no less fluid; and there's another ripping solo near the middle of the song, with lead lines sprinkled nicely throughout the song. "Maniacal Menace (Straight to Hell)" is a face-ripping track with strong rhythms and, near the 1:30 mark, an absolutely ear-piercing lead line that almost sounds apocalyptic in some fashion -- it's also one of two songs to not have a true solo. "Final Farewell," the closing track, is guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser and is probably the top on the list of fan favorites for these guys -- not only strong but downright crushing, yet catchy rhythms; melodic guitars that scream and squeal; and this song is the only one to feature Mr. Helme's clean vocals. Overall, I daresay every track on this demo slaughters. The production on the demo, while still a little on the rough side in some areas, is astoundingly clear -- guitars, drums, vocals ... all can be heard with rich clarity. The bass is pretty much buried somewhere in the mix, though I'm sure Metal George is churning right along with everyone else. The primary problem is that the music sounds a little thin at times -- those awesome rhythms, while obviously heavy, on here sound like they lack some meat. The drums sound lacking in terms of power, but not because of any fault on Chris's part -- it's just the mixing/production makes it almost like he's hitting pots and pans, especially with the snare. The guitars and vocals come through strongly in the mix, with the former having a deliciously raw and primal edge to them -- yet that also takes a bit away from the aforementioned obvious heaviness that's there at times, and most likely wanted there by the band. Helme's performance is top-notch, though, with no noteworthy problems. All in all, despite those gripes with the production (which can be set aside and most people probably wouldn't even pick up on, truth be told), the music on this demo is amazing. You owe it to yourself to check these guys out, and even though I've never been to one of their shows (and probably never will get the chance unless they're signed and go on tour around here) I can practically guarantee it's bound to be intense and worth your time -- just like this demo. Contact the band and order their demo, and if you can make it to a show they hand them out for free. In my humble opinion: awesome work, The Accursed. Let's hear what else you guys can do. (written by Jason from Tenebrous Kingdom webzine)
(www.rockmetalbands.com 5/12/02)
I've lost the counting of their albums, but the first thing I wanna say and repute important is that now they seem to have achieved a quite developed and personal style, even if some influences still come out at times, like during "The Black Thrash", which is near some Swedish metal masters; actually, a little problem indeed. Then you're impressed by their plucky 6-string solos, even tho everything's memorable here, riffs, each drum line, vokillz..., and especially the manifold time changes, well chosen and well structured. "Aftermath of Sorrow" is an all-mincing composition, in which a FAN-fucking-TASTIC sound wall's raised behind a few aggressive vocal scores, while "Worlds Divide" was written to make rectums bleed and definitely make the venues where they play come crashing down! Then, all of a sudden, you relax your hearing by an instrumental song built on a not boring arpeggio at all, "Autum's Twilight", yet the following "The Philosopher"'s Death's cover version delivers us new fierceness again. The very fast-paced and rolling "Maniacal Menace (straight to hell)" and the closer "Final Farewell" (the latter also including the only melodic enough vocal lines of the whole CD) are battle hymns endowed with efficient refrains, and they go on in the same way as the previous songs. The recording is PERFECT, clear and incredibly powerful at the same time; the only complain you'll have is gonna be that there are no another tracks unluckily (the CD lasts only 28 minutes).
BUY OR BE SADDAMIZED!
(written by Markus Ganzherrlich - www.rockmetalbands.com)
(Unhallowed zine)
The Accursed "Straight to Hell"
This is a new band coming straight out of Massachusetts, and if you haven't noticed that a huge following of metal bands have been coming from here! This 8 track, 28 minute long is some thing that should be added to your collection because they are on their way to being signed for sure! They have a sound that alot of bands don't usually play, which is a good thing. With influences from Death, At the Gates, Opeth, Carcass and even some black metal it gives them a unique sound to this area. Jam packed with death metal growls, high black metal screams and even some clean vocals, insanely tight drums and guitar work from Chris and Loki, you'll soon be seeing them on the review pages of magazines. They cover "The Philosopher" by Death which sounds insanely close to the actual song (vocal and musical wise), throw in a few solos from Oscar of Beyond the Embrace and they offer you a journey "Straight to Hell" (written by Josh Souza from Unhallowed zine)
Mark Welden from Rochester, NY.
My take on The Accursed's demo, which I received a couple days ago... Basically, this is probably the best quality demo I've ever heard. In my opinion, the quality fits the bands sound so perfectly that I've become rather absorbed for that purpose alone. This is what happens when you fuse many of the key elements in metal together and blend them so well that you can't ignore how well it flows, and how unique it comes across. It's Carcass meets Death meets Soilwork meets more traditional metal and its one hell of an exercise in sickness. The songs are outstandingly well written, the band knows when they are sitting on an outstanding riff that needs to be used many times, as well as how to compliment those riffs to perfection. For an example of that particular characteristic, the first song provides plenty of evidence. The rhythms are very well defined, and catchy as hell too. This recording left me no choice but to headbang for the whole damn thing. The guitars sound excellent, the solos are actually memorable, which is what I look for because I don't care how fast they can play. I'd rather hear something that sounds good, and this does it. On vocals, all I can say is that this is how they are supposed to be done. The raw intensity that is delivered perfectly compliments the sound of the band. Simply put, Jon sounds like a really pissed off demon. What more could be asked for? Oh yeah...the Death cover. For me, I was never a fan of Chuck's voice until he did Sound of Perseverance, and I also found the recording quality for the original Philosopher to be rather dry, so I enjoyed this...A LOT. 8 songs is quite a bit for a demo, but I can't complain on that. With material this good, the more the merrier. All this left me with was a hope that 1- they are in it for the long run and don't intend on breaking up before putting out a full length, and 2- I get to catch The Accursed live to see some of the newer songs played out. As a whole, this disc has many parts in it that really go for the jugular, and they hold on for the ride as well, this isn't one of the discs I put in the CD player, one listen, blip, all done. I must have listened to the final farewell about 20 times the day I got this. The way the clean vocals are worked with is monumental, arranged to perfection, and it basically just shows you that this is not just another demo. Bottom line: anyone who is not a poser would probably enjoy this. (written by Mark Welden of Warblade)
(Metallic Warlust zine)
The Accursed 廍traight From Hell� demo(65/100)
This is a demo CD-R of Metal George from Unhallowed zine𠏋 band, and being that it𠏋 a demo I𠍿 really surprised with the excellent production. However, were I to think twice, this really shouldn㦙 be of any surprise as the type of Metal they play is very much coming from the type that would complain about raw production. You see, The Accursed are of the Nuclear Blast (not UG harsh) persuasion of Metal, I鏆 say. While they do not clone, their sound can be likened to bands such as Soilwork, at times Children Of Bodom, and at their best moments 廍ound Of Perseverance� era Death. While I adore said Death album, I am simply not a fan of the others, and while The Accursed perform their style well and with some originality, this just isn㦙 my cup of tank fuel. Features a solid cover of a great Death song though - 孏he Philosopher�. Decide for yourself on this one folks. (written by Alex from Metallic Warlust zine)
If you have something to say about the demo and want to let us know what you think, you can email us at: TheAccursed13@aol.com
The demo is still FREE at any of our shows.
If we don't have one at the show, sign up for our mailing list & we'll send you one for free!
You can also order copies through the mail.
For mail order write to:
The Accursed
c/o Chris Helme
P.O. Box 6240
New Bedford, MA 02742-6240
For booking e-mail: TheAccursed13@aol.com
