Turku, Finland’s five-piece blackened death outfit Sepulchral Curse, have been carving their niche into the Finnish metal scene since 2013. Their 2020 debut album, Only Ashes Remain, which was backed by the full force and weight of the mighty Transcending Obscurity marketing machine, made quite an impression on fans1 and critics alike with its raw power and overt melodicism. After the departure of drummer and principal songwriter Tommi Ilmanen, however, 2023’s Abhorrent Dimensions was a beast of a different fur, with some of the melodic intricacies of its predecessor dialed back in favor of ferocity. Now, supported by new label Dark Descent Records and with the full Abhorrent Dimensions line-up intact, Sepulchral Curse returns with Crimson Moon Evocations. I was surprised that AMG had never covered a Sepulchral Curse release before, so I was excited to get to work. After re-acquainting myself with their previous efforts, I dove into Crimson Moon Evocations, wondering whether I’d howl or scowl.
Sepulchral Curse continues to drain the “black” from its blackened death metal swamp, replacing it with a healthy dose of doom on Crimson Moon Evocations. Gone is the bright, youthful thrashiness of Only Ashes Remain and the overtly straightforward, middle-aged deathliness of Abhorrent Dimensions, leaving only a cadaverously mature darkness in its wake, a fitting reflection of Mark Erskine’s beautifully murky cover art. Guitarists Jaako Riihinäki and Aleksi Luuka, who split songwriting duties here, have crafted an album that mixes Hyperdontial barbarism with the moody melodicism of Ocean of Grief. Full of melancholic leads (“Wildfires,” “The Currents of Chaos”), doom-heavy chugs and dense, chest-piercing riffs (“The Locust Scar”), there’s plenty here to keep heads bobbing and fists engaged. Niilas Nissilä’s bass, though not always audible, combines well with Johannes Rantala’s world-beating drum work to bring extra heft to the Crimson Moon Evocations riff-fest. Add the always guttural, brute-heavy vocals of Kari Kankaanpää to this primarily mid-paced affair, and Sepulchral Curse seems to have successfully crossed over into the realms of melodic death doomdom.
From start to finish, the journey through Crimson Moon Evocations‘ forty-minute runtime took me by surprise. With Riihinäki’s and Luuka’s dual guitar work hanging lushly in the garden of Tomi Uusitupa’s warm mix, the crushing tremolos of “House of the Black Moon” stand tall alongside the Slayer-like leads of “Beneath the Dismal Tides” and the monstrous power of “Crimson Passage” as album highlights. The doomier approach shows fans this is not the stock-in-trade Sepulchral Curse they are used to but a band stretching past the boundaries of its previous efforts to carve out a more sustainable future. And if the inherent darkness embedded into Crimson Moon Evocations is any indication, the future for Sepulchral Curse may have just gotten brighter.
Still, as evolved as Sepulchral Curse have become on Crimson Moon Evocations, there’s still work to do. While I am a big fan of Kari’s monstrously cavernous vocal delivery, the sheer density of the man’s crushing approach can sometimes leave a listener gasping for air. Previous efforts saw backing vocals provided by Ilmanen and Nissilä offset that density with plenty of blackish rasps and shouts. On Crimson Moon Evocations, Kari stands alone in the vocal spotlight with only “Empress of the Dead” offering some level of strident, Nissilä provided variety. Combine this issue with the fact that, since its inception, Sepulchral Curse has never really done anything to place itself head and shoulders above what any other band is doing in the blackened death, and now doom, space, and you are left with just one more fair-to-middlin’ affair.
Sepulchral Curse is a good band. Crimson Moon Evocations is a good album, and I enjoyed it well enough. This “goodness” stands both as the band’s blessing and its curse. And while the opening of this last paragraph has made it clear what score I’ve assessed, it bears reiterating that Sepulchral Curse has done nothing here that’s got me mixed or disappointed, but they’ve also not done anything very good or great. However, I am encouraged by this newfound darkness they’ve tapped into and will be hoping for a howling great time on the next outing.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Dark Descent Records | Bandcamp
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: February 28, 2025
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