Cursed To Occult is a German one-man band, the solo recording work of one Micha Eibisch, though it expands to a full band for live performances. Because it is a one-man project, the music is very much a reflection of its creator’s personal experiences, and those experiences are distressing — as you might guess from both the name of Cursed To Occult‘s debut album Mind Wreck, and the title of its forthcoming second album, Diary Of A Broken Man.
What we have for you today is the unnerving and exhilarating first video and single from that new album, in advance of its release by the Crawling Chaos label on September 1st. Entitled “Cultleader“, it’s a viscerally compelling amalgam of crust punk, black metal, sludge, and hardcore, all roped together to lash and pummel the senses with shattering intensity.
But before we get to that song and video, it’s worth sharing what Micha Eibisc has stated about where the music on the new album comes from:
I have reflected with the album my dark emotional world, which I went through a few years ago. For a long time I had to fight my inner demons and let far too much negative over me. The physical as well as the psychological pain was too great and lasted for a long time. The album tells the story of this ugly part of my life!
I was manipulated and betrayed by some people who were very close to my heart! I was enslaved by my own thoughts. My everyday life was marked by fears as well as insomnia and depressive mood. I thought this state of self-destruction and suffering never ends! The inner demons became bigger, up to the loss of self-control. That’s exactly what this album reflects, offering a wide range of musical influences.
Every single song projects my dark emotional world at that time. Anger, despair, loneliness and misunderstandings are reflected in the music. For me, the writing process was a cleansing of my soul and the closing of a dark chapter in my life.
Now, to the song and video we go….
It’s fair to say that most people are drawn to extreme metal, and other forms of extreme music, because of its intensity, and both the music and the video for “Cultleader” are definitely intense. Sizzling with distortion, the guitars are grim and slashing, and then flare into a tremolo-picked whir of derangement. The drums follow course, popping like a punk’s pulse, then blasting away, then shifting into different gears and erupting in hyper-speed fills.
The vocals are a full match for the instrumental intensity, the kind of ragged unchained screams that sound like people violently tearing themselves apart with their bare hands, either in torment or in fury or both.
The music sears like an acetylene torch and batters in rage, clangs like blades coming down on shields, and convulses in skittering fevers. The drumming continues to seize attention with all its electrifying variations, and the heavy bass keeps pace. Yes, it’s intense, and harrowing. Not much hope here, but damned difficult to ignore its grip.
The video, conceived by Micha Eibisch and created by Michael Throne and Thiemo Wagner of Indivisual Media, tells the grim tale of the song, and also provides a good insight into the live band’s performance capabilities as they throw themselves headlong into the execution.
CURSED TO OCCULT Live Line-up:
–Micha Eibisch: Songwriting, Guitar, Bass, Vocals, Drums (Live Vocals, Drums)
–Niklas Demel: Live Guitar, Vocals
–Andreas Demel: Live Bass
–Thomas Schneider: Live Guitar
Diary Of A Broken Man will be released by Crawling Chaos on vinyl and digital formats on September 1st. For more info, check the links below.
CRAWLING CHAOS:
https://thecrawlingchaos-records.de
https://thecrawlingchaosrecords.bandcamp.com
CURSED TO OCCULT:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cursedtooccult/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cursed_to_occult/
Bandcamp: https://cursedtooccult.bandcamp.com/