Those of the Cursed Light is the second album from this Spanish black metal act who have been around since 2006. . The first band that comes to your mind is obviously the unmistakable Dissection but then we haven’t heard any such bands of late, save for a couple of exceptions (Astrophobos), in this decade at least. Dissection itself hasn’t sounded the same, like it did on say the groundbreaking Storm Of The Light’s Bane. Only Sacramentum’s outstanding album Far Away From The Sun gave it any competition, but both bands paled with time. There were many clones, but they dried up too, like Naglfar among others.

Frozen Dawn isn’t as vicious, it’s keeping it textbook, but simplifying things the way old school death/black metal has been simplified these days. It doesn’t necessary imply a dumbing down of the music, simply that it’s more to-the-point, effective but it also means it’s less ambitious and of course original. One could argue whether people now would have the attention span to listen to long, winding songs when they have bands going straight for the jugular, and to that end this band works very well. It’s also reminiscent of other Swedish death metal-inclined bands such as the first Necrophobic, Unanimated albums but they seem to have lost that charm they originally had. Even the original ones can’t carry on or match up to the classics, so it wouldn’t be fair to compare the newer ones for falling short.

Those Of The Cursed Light is a solid album, it gets the job done. It’s like any other competent old school death/black metal bands of this decade. There are moments where Watain comes to mind when it slows down, but it’s firmly rooted in the melodic Dissection-style of music, which is heart-warming and chilly at the same time. It’s keeping it real, so to speak, aesthetically. It’s evident looking at the album artwork and the production is pristine as well in that regard. What is a little drawback is that the riffing isn’t exceptionally catchy or memorable, it’s standard, it’s good, but nothing like say Dissection or Sacramentum. But that’s like expecting Amorphis-level of riffing circa ‘Tales From The Thousand Lakes’. Is it worthy of your money?

If the description sounds right up your alley, it is. If you’re looking for something original or classic-surpassing, then no. I’ve been listening to this album on repeat and it’s worthy déjà vu, something that can only be cherished because few have the competence any more to recreate even an iota of that classic ‘90s magic.

[Visit the band's website]

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