Cursed EarthCycles of Grief Volume 2: Decay

Continuing their two-part Cycles of Grief EP concept, metallic hardcore crew Cursed Earth hurtle recklessly forward across six new tracks. Where the album artwork for August’s Volume 1: Growth was adorned with a black and white rose, hinting at symbolism as far-stretched as memoriam, death, and the futility of continual persistence, Volume 2: Decay goes straight for the gut: a shell-shocked figure, their head in their hands, down in a deep, dark hole of their own digging. As guitarist Kieran Molloy alludes in the band’s promotional material, “This isn’t a commentary on society. Society is nothing but smoke from the fire, the result of the flawed nature of the individuals who comprise it.” If Volume 1: Growth felt like standing next to an open blaze, then Volume 2: Decay is the smell of smoke drifting over charred ruins.

Volume 2: Decay is more sonically diverse than its predecessor, with a slightly larger track listing and run-time that allows the Perth quintet room to experiment with song structure, tempos and sequencing.

But enough with the thematic metaphors. Volume 2: Decay is more sonically diverse than its predecessor, with a slightly larger track listing and run-time that allows the Perth quintet room to experiment with song structure, tempos and sequencing. Cuts like Regression and Rage (The Cost) hit with Cursed Earth’s trademark ferocity: stomping riffs, rumbling bass tones, and frontwoman Jazmine Luders’ fierce razor-sharp vocal attack. Regret is short-lived before descending into a frenzied, sliding beatdown, while standout Grief (a title track of sorts?) opens up with pit-driven chaos, as tight drum and vocal phrasing punctuates the track with stop-start barks and bursts of double-kick. Exhausted dials up the tension with an evocative instrumental interlude, as closer Eternal sees the band have a crack at eerie and melodic sung vocals, juxtaposed against brutal gutturals and a crushing slam section.

Taking both EP’s together as a cohesive concept (which is kind of the point, otherwise, why have volumes in the first place?), Cycles of Grief is a haunting, bleak and uncompromisingly heavy experience. Volume 1: Growth successfully documented our innate struggle to survive as flawed human beings, while Volume 2: Decay resigns us to our unavoidable defeat. And as they say, “inevitably, the cycle continues.”

STICK THIS NEXT TO: Nihility, Code Orange & Venom Prison
STANDOUT TRACKS: Grief, Regret & Eternal

Cycles of Grief Volume 2: Decay will be available from September 22nd via UNFD.