Title: Gnostic Holocaust
Label: Iron Bonehead Productions
Release Date: October 19, 2017
Country: Mexico
The greatest issue with black/death bands is the very limiting restrictions of the genre. There is not much room to expand, and thus stand out from the waves of Blasphemy clones that seem to pop up all over the globe. A few have managed to really stand out this year, with Goatpenis and Weregoat taking a more melodic, accessible approach or Vesicant dropping their tempos into doom territory. Enter Sacrocurse and their sophmore full-length, Gnostic Holocaust. There is not much new here, but what they bring to the table is a solid slice of black/death nonetheless. Their are hooks to be found here, especially on the surprisingly catchy "Endless Khaoz", which stands as an anthemic highlight and I would assume a future live staple for the band. The production is good, not lo-fi but not squeaky clean either. The guitar solos serve the purpose of taking the tracks to the next level without overstaying their welcome, and the pick scrapes ZK (of Nodens, Obeisance, ex-Morbosidad) flavors the tracks with are loud and full. The band's solid rhythm section has no trouble locking into a groove on the breakdowns between the chaotic fast attacks or on the slower "Vengence Consumed". The vocals are well delivered, but rarely deviate from the same delivery, though there are bits of higher-pitched screams to be found sprinkled in. Overall, despite my complaints of not bringing much new to the war metal table, the release is enjoyable enough to stand out a bit amongst the other Blasphmeny clones releasing albums this year. 6.5/10 By d00mfr0gg
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