Rotten Sound - Cursed

Published March 16 2011

*=Staff's pick	Alone Superior* Self* Choose* Hollow Ritual Green Machinery Power Plan Declare Addict Exploit* Terrified Scared Doomed

Genre	Grindcore	Keijo Niinimaa	Vocals
Tracks	16	Mika Aalto	Guitar
Runningtime	27 Min.	-	Guitar
Label	Relapse	Kristian Toivainen	Bass
Release	15 March 2011	Sami Latva	Drums
Country	Finland	-	Keyboard
Producer	-
Similar artists	Nasum, Napalm Death

Severely addicted to Nasum's music, it's hard not to have this kind of grindcore as role model when listening to other bands within the subgenre - even though it might me a bit unfair. Hearing Rotten Sound's Cursed one can - happily - do nothing but to cheer, because it totally fulfills the ludicrously high expectations I had on the album.

Rotten Sound manages to do almost everything right - of course there is plenty of the totally earcrushing music associated with grindcore, here are the nods to Napalm Death and Nasum that I totally like, and the very heavy, groovy playing that more grindcore bands really ought to apply more.

On Cursed you will also hear a band that has the good taste to not pack the album full with too many songs - now we get 16 distinct songs where you immediately hear that this, this is Rotten Sound - and an album that clocks in at 30 minutes. This is an album of perfect length if you ask me - and when the songs are as strong as they are the impulse to reach out and press play after the last song ends is very easy to give in to.

It's much easier for me to list the thing I don't like about Cursed. Yes, there is only one thing I don't like - the effect put on the vocals about one minute into Scared. That's it.

Rotten Sound displays such a confidence on Cursed to take the breath away - good songs are a start, but it certainly doesn't hurt when the band executes them in the manner they do! Holy mother of blastbeats - if you find one flaw playingwise on this record please show me - because I can't.

Rotten Sound has made a very strong record - I believe that no other grindcore band can top Cursed this year - it's that good. If you're into grindcore and don't go out and get Cursed there is something seriously wrong.