Curse Iceland

"We are dealing with black metal here, and not just black metal, but old school black metal with its roots firmly planted in the first wave of black metal and artists such as Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, Bathory, and Venom.

And I would say that this release has more in commong with Helhammer and Celtic Frost's two first EPs than with modern black metal of today. Thus, "Void Above, Abyss Below" offers primitive, aggressive and dirty music, which means that there is not a lot of emphasis on being technical, or fast or show-offy or anything like that.

This is pure energy.

Most of the tracks are on the verge of being simple thrash metal along the lines of Hellhammer/Frost and Venom with an almost punky attitude., and I actually dig that. The energy of the music is raw and dirty, which fits the holistic expression of the album as a Gestalt very well.

The production is lo-tech (but not unbearable) with lots of reverb and a raw, unprocessed drum sound, and this fits the music itself very well.

If you like early primitive black metal along the lines of Hellhammer/Frost, then you should listen to this album and let yourself immerse into the raw energy.

(review originally posted on metalmusicarchives.com)"