ATRA: "Up-turning the Curse"

It hasn't been that many months since Atra's previous release, namely the second full-length In Reverence of Decay, came out and here this seemingly prolific dark entity already offers brand new material in the length of an EP. Consisting of six songs, of which two are droning bookends, Up-turning the Curse does not surprise a listener who is familiar with his back catalogue, and so the question is more about are you up for another trip through harrowing graveyards in pitch black, lurking darkness, or have you had your share of the style by now.

The first piece of the EP, ”Invocation of the Departed”, revels in setting the deadly ambiance, followed by ”Wander the Absence” which gets into the low fidelity black metal where the band does not take many compromises. It's ghastly as hell, there's no question of that even if the actual compositions aren't that special. This particular song does contain an old schoolis power chord riff at one point which is a nice change. The eponymoys ”Up-turning the Curse” belongs to the highlights of the EP, it is a ritualistic piece of pummeling tom drums, desperate and haunting screams and, perhaps most importantly, sinister synth mats. ”Harbringer (II)” crawls forth slowly with discordant plucking until it turns into a more straightforward affair of underground black metal. Its ending is probably the most surprising thing in the whole EP as it's one first times when Atra gets into a melancholic, melodic climax close to Drowning the Light's recent output. ”Graveless Apparitions” involves some wild guitar work but doesn't stand out as much as some other pieces here, and ”Possession” closes the experience in a nicely textured ambient atmosphere.

Comparing Up-turning the Curse with Atra's other output is a challenge since the music hasn't branched much off from the style they've been doing since the first demo. What is a definite plus, however, is the shorter running time: now Atra sounds more focused than ever and perhaps it's also a bit easier to digest in smaller dosages than as a full 40-minute monster. A mandatory purchase for the followers of the current Australian scene (Ill Omen, Harvest and a dozen more) and for all others also a nice example of underground black metal where the atmosphere is spot on.

3.5 / 5