BLACK CURSE – BURNING IN CELESTIAL POISON LP (Sepulchral Voice Records)

‘Burning in Celestial Poison’ drowns the world in darkness, death and depravity. Now is not a time for fucking around or nuance or holding back. It’s time for Death / Black Metal to reclaim the throne of chaos, debauchery, iniquity and putrid sonic venom. Pummelling auditory violence is the order of the day on Black Curse’s second full-length and it’s refreshing to encounter such utterly unhinged, indifferent malevolence.

Inundating us with eleven foul minutes of pitch-black dread and toxic bile, filling the ear canal and the lungs with black tar, opening invocation ‘Spleen Girt with Serpent’ sets the abominable tone, assaulting the senses, a timely reminder of the might and majesty of the most uncompromising music we love but largely bemoan as those who do this shit competently or effectively these days are sadly few and far between. If the newest Teitanblood stands as a final monolith to the death of the underground, this too represents a significant death yell.

There are levels of energy, power, passion, vibrancy, musicianship and darkness permeating ‘Burning in Celestial Poison’ that are rare in 2025 and the filthy production allows the malice to seep through like bodily fluids weeping into the soil or dripping off a cold slab. There’s something truly disgusting and rank about this obscure, abyssal, occult auditory odyssey, from the sounds themselves to the excellent lyrics, the presentation (class booklet included) and the overriding aura of intense agonising infernal wrath.

There is no standout track. Once the portal is thrown open, the blackness consumes all, the death magick consistent, constant, unbearable. The oppressive and aggressive nature of the music allows the shattered psyche channelled to extinguish all light, banish all hope. Leaving only darkness and death. Exactly how it should be. The follow-up, which continues to wield all its power after countless listens, is a significant upgrade upon Black Curse’s truly wonderful debut ‘Endless Wound’ in terms of intensity and impact; three quarters of an hour of unholy, ugly torment and hell-on-earth mockery of the lowest, most slithering serpentine disposition.

Evilometer: 666/666