Cursed III: Architects of Troubled Sleep

(For fans of all things very heavy and very angry.)

I've been a fan of Cursed since Deathwish put out their debut "I", in 2003. I loved the darkness in the guitar tones, Chris Colohan's intense lyrics and growl, and the band's imagery, evident on all their releases and merch. I remember buying "II" in the summer of 2005 and to this day that record reminds me of driving up and down 95 in the dead heat of summer, blasting those cold, sinister songs.

Three years later Cursed finally put out "III: Architects of Troubled Sleep", and it is by far their angriest, most intense record so far. The minute and a half sample collage that opens it sets the tone for the rest of the record. Voices go in and out, talking about fear. In the end a woman states, "We really begin to feel that you don't have any power. That you're just going through the motions," before a man interrupts her with, "Go shopping. Go back to the mall, go back to your normal lives. We'll take care of everything." With that, Cursed leap into a blast beat that they don't relent from for the next 30 minutes. Insomnia, distrust and frustration are the keys and fear through religion and government is the subject they explore.

Cursed are on the top of their game and I am sick of waiting patiently for them to tour the States, (they're from Toronto). Oh yeah, and the artwork (top picture) was done by Baroness's John Baizley. That man's resume is incredible.

"Kill the bosses.
Kill the priests.
Kill the shepherds.
Save the sheep."

"Don't wanna bite the hand that feeds
I wanna fucking break it off."

Hipster Metal

Yeah, that thing. The trend of the last year or so in which hip magazines and Websites cover certain heavy metal bands they deem chic and cool. Some of its first subjects were progressives like Sunn O))), Boris and Mastodon. As frustrating as it was to see a Website cover and equate Mastodon and the Hold Steady together, it was understandable because well, Mastodon's really fucking good. It makes perfect sense for someone to worship both at the alters of Mastodon and Radiohead.

In fact, the only coverage that was truly dumbfounding was that of Southern Lord and Relapse bands. There is nothing remotely accessible about Sunn O))), which is why it has always been the underground of the underground. So why the coverage? Why the mentions in Spin, Rolling Stone and Pitchfork? The hipster metal fad has always been inevitable. There' always been something bewitching (sorry) by the darkly esoteric nature of heavy metal in general. By nature, metal deals with mysterious and unnatural subjects, which are both entertaining and contemplative.

So maybe the "hipster metal" fad should be of no surprise. Even Shins fans must find metal alluring for at least a little while. Doesn't that guy from the Mountain Goats write for Decibel? Today in a write up on the new Disfear record, Pitchfork referenced Tragedy, Kylesa and Victims. They just couldn't help it, though. No one can disregard D-beat and Sabbath riffs. That's the point! The difference is that next year when we're still here, they'll have moved on to something new. Just please don't let it be disco-punk again.