Band:	Cursebinder
Album:	Drifting
Style:	Post black metal
Release date:	April 07, 2023
A review by:	AndyMetalFreak

01. Affected By Panic
02. Drifting
03. Shred By Shred
04. Becoming
05. Can They Hear Me
06. No Dreams
07. Every Tree A Sanctuary
08. Permeating The Undergrowth

Now, here's a new, exciting prospect Drifting your way. Cursebinder may indeed sound like a marvelous band name, but I'll have you know that this is a post-black debut as equally impressive as the band name itself.

Residing in what is now arguably the new home of black metal, Poland, is this new fantastic post-black metal band, Cursebinder. Modern black metal has come along way, that is since the days of the rough, raw, and edgy sounding, simplistically melodious, and full on lyrically blasphemous style which the genre brought us during the early 90s. You could even say the songwriting has become more sophisticated; it's certainly better production-wise, and with that, the experimenting and blending of other genres has become the center focus of many new black metal bands. In the instance of Cursebinder, we have post-metal elements infused with modern black metal, so what we obviously have here on Drifter is something similar to post-black metal.

However, this is a sub-genre that isn't entirely original, but each band in this particular category adds their own unique touch and style, creating their own identity, with band such as: ROSK, Olhava, and perhaps to a lesser degree Panzerfaust leading the way under the post-black metal sub-genre. Just like those bands, Cursebinder bring a certain uniqueness and style of their own. The modern Polish black metal sound is evident in their approach, with fellow Polish black metal legends Mgła being what I would consider a major influence. This is no real surprise, as they're a band which has become an iconic influence to so many newly formed black metal acts, and not just in their native Poland either, but around the world.

The album's opener, “Affected By Panic”, begins with a soft, dark, eerily atmospheric soundscape, which gently sets the mood and tone, then transcending into a more dramatic, and powerfully dark ambient setting. These changes in style and tempo happen frequently throughout the album. On many occasions you'll be struck by heavy, mid-tempo, doom-like plodding sections, followed by ambient sections at pedestrian tempo, like for instance the short instrumental interval “Can They Hear Me”. You will then be hit by the more ferocious tempo sections, which are accompanied by standard blackened tremolo picking and faster rhythmic blast beats.

The drumming, for me, is the most notable highlight; the rhythmic beats are within the range of Mgła's great drummer Darkside. He commands the general overall flow, occasionally leading the rhythm into a hypnotic state, such as on the impressive title track, before blast beating away as the tempo increases. The strong, hypnotic melodious riffing also complements the overall rhythm pattern, but it's when the lead guitar work comes into play that the album really shines.

The shrieking vocals are performed impressively, but more importantly are precisely placed further back in the mix; not too far back, but just enough to allow the listener to absorb the tremendously powerful atmosphere provided by the synths and instrumentation. The synths are present throughout most of the album, constantly keeping the haunting atmospherics in place, but never overpowering the instrumentation. So, overall, the production is remarkably done.

Stay tuned for more from this great new post-black metal act that is Cursebinder. If this debut is anything to go by, I can't see them Drifting away anytime soon.