Rooted in the early 1990s spirit of Mystifier and Necromantia, Cursed Excruciation offers its blend of black and death metal without compromise. Mainly operating at a medium tempo, Arcane Diabolism relies on the power of its piercing riffs (great tone, by the way) and the cryptic vocals, sometimes half-whispered. Compositionally, the songs are nothing to write home about – essentially what you have are rather simple but powerful riffs repeated across each track, most of which span over 6 minutes – yet if you are simply after a dose of the old-school energy of the aforementioned bands, you cannot go wrong with Arcane Diabolism. For me, the album overstays its welcome a little, so the dose could’ve been smaller, but I know there are real fans of the style out there.
3 / 5
