Release Date: September 06th 2024. Record Label: Ripple Music. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl
Delirium: Tracklisting
1. The Suffering is Ours 2. Deliberate Cruelty 3. R.I.P. 4. Riff Forest 5. In Dismal Space 6. Brain Paint 7. Delirium 8. May Cause Drowsiness 9. Liste of the Dead
Members
Ron Vanacore (guitar, vox)
Dan Weeden (bass)
Logan Vanacore (drums)*
*drums on “Delirium” performed by Brian Harris
Review
Delirium is the fifth album from Doom/Stoner Metallers Curse The Son and they build a whole load of dangerous volume with this record. Capturing a similar sound and essence as such bands as Saint Vitus, The Obsessed and Black Sabbath, The band have been perfecting their own blend of aggressive and fuzz fuelled sounds for sixteen years now with Curse The Son showing no signs of slowing down. The music has a more gloomier and proto-metal essence compared to their previous records.
With a clever use of distortion and classic hard rock musical interplay, the record is quite riff-centric with Curse The Son still employing a devilish style of delivery within the melodic sludgy guitars and Occult based lyrics which shows moments of dirge-ridden Grunge tones especially within the earlier parts on the record on tracks such as The Suffering Is Ours, Deliberate Cruelty and the fantastic cover of the Witchfinder General classic track R.I.P.
You can hear influences of Soundgarden within this record and if that legendary band ever released a Doom Metal record then Delirium is perhaps the closest we’ll ever get to that. There are moments of Classic Blues Rock or early moments of 1970’s Heavy Metal appearing within the record even when Curse The Son delves into a multi-layered style of Distorted sounds and twisted levels of Fuzzed Up Doom.
The record works at its best when Curse The Son offer a stripped back style of Doom/Stoner Metal that is comparable to the early works of Saint Vitus and The Obsessed but still allowing themselves enough room to sound frightfully original on their own creative merits.
The vocals from Ron Vanacore have a muscular and soulful exterior with echoes of Ozzy and Wino in places especially when he starts singing about the more sinister OCCULT themes of the Doom Metal world which allows the lyrics to be quite potent even when they go slightly OTT. The lyrics are another highlight which tap into the Gloom & Doom world perfectly whilst having some dark demented fun at the same time.
Delirium moves along at a cool sounding slow-to-mid pace but allows the levels of seedy FUZZ and Doomedelic sounds to perfectly build up to an exciting LOUD volume. The added bonus of Psychedelic sounds and passages does become more evident as the record goes with Curse The Son happy to experiment with different styles of music on the later stages of the record.
Whilst Delirium still has a dark fun quality at times, we mustn't forget that Curse The Son are primarily a Doom Metal band and they employ dark tales of harsh realities into their music which can be quite unforgiving at times. Check out tracks such as Deliberate Cruelty, In Dismal Space, Brain Paint, Delirium and May Cause Drowsiness which are perhaps the strongest tracks on the whole record. The music is always interesting and quite varied that spans across the whole Doom/Stoner Metal spectrum.
During the recording of Delirium, drummer Brian Harris amicably parted ways with the band which is a shame as he provides some epic and insightful drumming here. With Dan Weeden providing excellent bass sounds on the album as well. Though Ron Vanacore being the front and centre of the band with his intense grooves and passionate vocals. Delirium is a real team effort with Curse The Son once again delivering another masterclass of Doom/Stoner Metal to add to their impressive back catalogue.
Delirium is a masterful release with an outstanding collection of Doom/Stoner Metal tracks to allow Curse The Son cement their reputation as one of today’s finest modern day American Doom Metal bands currently out there.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the promo.
Delirium will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Ripple Music from Friday 06th September 2024.
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