Breaking the Oath

Ecuadorian thrash-er/speed metal act Curse Breaker, having made the grade for annotation here at the diligent Metal-Archives, equivates a damn fine mosh pit companion to New York state's similarly riveting n' wry Fatal Curse, in light of various spell dissolution at play.

Effectively, and though I'm churlishly annoyed my own respective submission for the tropical twin-axed quintet failed to get the green light - lamely, due to its cryptic "download unavailability" - am, at this point, enlivened it's been sagely added to the roster...self-aggrandizing pride and hubris "be cursed"! So, if you're an enthused and stimulated Skull Fist, Hellmidian, or Voltax adept, among others, chant a token, however silly and juvenile, heavy metal incantation as you settle in for some high-end favouring, rip-some tracks in the indelible, mid/fast tempo vein of opener "Pale Blood" (a fitting hypothetical band name) and its as-revving, un-jinxing titular partner in spiritual crime, both of which yield the killing floor to a chromatically spun, rampant, gang crowed witching hour called "Destroyer"; rest assured it's no skin flayed off Enforcer's omnipresent albeit temporarily waning backside.

In fact, the latter's expressive, upbeat and undeniably jovial major key/scaled lead demonstrates, with rapacity and idiomatic flair, CB's straightforward yet colourful, no frills song craft, until an uncanny albeit fitting glockenspiel inception yields a blast beaten shuffle meister in "Rise of the White Wolf"; it appears wolves & metal coalesce like peanut butter and lettuce, for want of a vegan example. Across the board, feral introductory guitar solos appoint professionalism, celerity and a no-nonsense drive which skirts pure and authentic melodic speed metal akin to pre-Zenith Enforcer, along with its nigh overlooked, largely forgotten regional ascendants, Brainfever. (Hence, there's much more to the Northern, Scandinavian nation than just classy, hipster furnishings/house ware and/or penny Swedish berries immortalized during our youth.)

While the inoffensive albeit competent cover of Blind Guardian's "Wizard's Crown" lies astride preceding originals, it also prevents this rock/stock solid debut from falling below the half hour mark, not to mention play out singularly as an EP, however extensive. After all, Breaking the Curse oozes confidence and enthusiasm; there's no doubt the Latin American upstart is no Johnny-come-lately...Still, make time for two, maybe three, consecutive spins as to fully catch its fist-pumping, pedal-to-to-metal gist.

Furthermore, a festively non-committal hip shaker entails the anthem-ic and no less pussy whipped "Midnight Lover", which slyly evokes the Iberian Hitten''s second, slightly glammy re-incarnation i.e. its Twist of Fate LP from 2018. The dual-trade off leads herein sound particularly minor crossed with your usual pentatonic legerdemain so iconic to rock n' roll and heavy metal. The vampiric 7.25 minute long "Carmilla", for its vestal, sanguinary part, masterfully compliments the coveted wickedness inherent to the persistent undercurrent of spells, rites and rituals/(lupine) victuals.

Released a month ago, digitally and on CD under California's upper deck Stormspell Records, Breaking the (non oafish) Oath shows how advantageous international meddling oft transpires. At any rate, this seven-tracked debut -"stream-able" on NWOTHM's kick-ass tool tube page - conveys Curse Breaker's gripping gumption and killer potential. (Knowing this, it'd be awesome to catch 'em live as they open for their Motorhead emulating/umlaut-happy, as well as slyly punk-ish, hombres, Nightpröwler - or vice-versa, should this warrant a coin toss.)