There’s something new from This Gift is a Curse.
After a discrete existence since their last album, released in 2019, Jonas A. Holmberg (vocals), Patrik Andersson (guitar/vocals), David Deravian (guitar), Lars Gunnarsson (bass) and Christian Augustin (drums) – accompanied by Laura Morgan on vocals – renew their partnership with Season of Mist for the release of their fourth album, Heir.
Kingdom immediately throws us into the middle of an ocean of darkness, first with chaotic speed, then with haunting screams before finally slowing the track down. The vocal duet between Jonas and Laura offers us this moment of salvific respite before the sound flares up again and drags us along in its desolation until No Sun, Nor Moon where the tone immediately darkens, trapping us in its tenebrous cocoon before setting things alight once more. The riffs then become abrasive and angry, whether in their obvious Black Metal influences or in their greasy Sludge influences, but also in the fiery backing vocals that fade away with Void Bringer, where the voice is almost plaintive under those slow, steady strokes. Even on the low-saturation passage, the oppression developed by the musicians grows until it can’t take any more and explodes, giving us another session of violence before gradually returning to heavy noises, but we’re back to the auditory apocalypse with Death Maker, where the furious approach is once again favored. The track is very raw, both in terms of the instrumental and the vocal parts, but it’s also shorter than its predecessors, and so allows itself to be unleashed without waiting to join Passing, an interlude lasting just over two minutes that sees us catch our breath in anguish. The quietude becomes false with the arrival of Seers Of No Light, where it doesn’t take long to fear the eruption that comes after just a minute, once again sweeping everything in its path in its most furious passages, interspersed with a few moments that are barely calmer, then Industrial influences come to temporize before Cosmic Voice reveals its true power. The sound then becomes as imposing and majestic as it is apocalyptic, taking us through intriguing hues as the vocals lose themselves in the immensity of the composition, but the sound becomes colder and disappears in favor of Vow Sayer, which takes off again at full speed, trampling us in its turn in its darkness. The vocal parts are really piercing, creating a real creeping unease that calms down by reaching Old Space, which recalls the distant, airy sound while integrating obscure parts like the murmurs that accompany the lead vocal and the massive aspect of the track. Dissonance still remains, especially on the final before Ascension, the ultimate composition that allows the band to renew its devastating fury to close the album with a certain mastery of rhythm, allowing lighter moments to reinforce the surges.
With over an hour long, Heir may surprise or even put off, but not This Gift is a Curse fans, who are right to believe in their favorite band: the rhythm is perfect for alternating pure violence, dissonance and a few more imposing moments. Listen with your eyes closed.
95/100
