Only Ashes Remain

Sepulchral Curse formed in 2013, releasing a couple of well-received EPs since that time which likely helped get them signed on Transcending Obscurity Records for their debut full-length. I enjoyed their A Birth in Death EP when it came out, but found it didn't do enough to stand out from the deluge of Finnish Death Metal bands at the time. That's all behind them now, as Only Ashes Remain is a dark and punishing onslaught of Black/Death Metal that takes hooky, disharmonic melodies and marries it with that dark, sinister Death Metal style that can only be called Finnish. The songwriting is leaps and bounds beyond previous efforts, with each song carefully building tension before reaching suffocating resolutions, as they do on the spine-snapping album highlight "Eyes Inside", easily one of their best songs to date. It's always great to see a once generic act get their shit together to make something individual and high-quality, and no one's happier than me to see Sepulchral Curse pull it off. Here's to more Black/Death savagery from our newest big contenders in the scene.