This Gift Is A Curse
Heir


3.5
great

Review

by Vasilis S. STAFF
March 7th, 2025 | 44 replies


Release Date: 03/07/2025 | Tracklist

Review Summary: And with a thousand fangs, the world is destroyed.

From the darkest, most abrasive corners of extreme music comes This Gift Is a Curse, a blackened sludge / post-metal outfit characterized by its affinity towards sonic hyperviolence and a rather forlorn philosophy on the value of the human condition. I’m still not familiar with the band’s debut “I, Gvilt Bearer” from 2012, but I strongly appreciated how tense and engaging their two follow-up full length albums were, which had me eagerly waiting for a new sign of activity since before the beginning of the pandemic - now arriving in the form of “Heir”.

A noose is immediately tightened around the neck of the listener once the opener “Kingdom” kicks in, where the band blasts its now known, sharp black metal aggression laced with novel electronics in what is, right from the get-go, one of the most forceful tracks of the record. A thick, oppressive atmosphere is established as faster, more volatile sections grapple with middle-paced, suffocating sludgy / post-metal rotations that This Gift Is A Curse frequently practice, enhancing the album’s unpredictability as well as its adequacy to blend pieces from numerous genres together. While they fully sound like themselves at all times, there are still a few newer elements present here compared to their back catalog, which indicates a state of creative unrest and progress.

To me, the production has considerably improved since “A Throne of Ash”, providing a crucial boost in impact with a generally dense mix that neatly reveals all the variation and texture of the album. The aching instrumentation is topped with a vocal work that sounds as tormented as possible, and the combination of male and female clean singing in the second half of “Kingdom” is particularly notable. The band has introduced some sparse layers of electronics, like the interlude “Passing” or at the introduction of “Void Bringer”, but also in the more experimental approach of free drums / synths and vocals on “Cosmic Voice”, which is the most unique track and further signifies the band’s expanded artistic palette.

High levels of infectious, riff-driven malevolence can also be found in “Vow Sayer”, “Seer of No Light” and “Death Maker”, while the longer pieces like “Void Bringer” or “Old Space” get more meditative. In my view, these tracks also contain the album’s primary weakness (one that also extends to This Gift Is A Curse as a whole): a tendency toward repetitiveness that falls short when compared to the ferocity of their heaviest moments. I had this issue with their previous records too, but “Heir” runs even 15 minutes longer. The intensity sometimes diminishes in both “Void Bringer” and “Old Space”, and the same is also evident only moderately in a few moments of the final track “Ascension”, which is otherwise, thankfully, packed with bombastic guitar lines.

Don’t let this remark discourage you though. Even if I would prefer a more tightly structured work (optimally at two thirds of its current duration), This Gift Is A Curse still sit comfortably above average in the extreme metal scene, and they carry on with another album of poignant chaos that claws and screams its way through the listener. If you’re a fan of names like Hexis, Rorcal or Celeste, you’ll most likely be in full alignment with the band’s musical uproar. And if there’s an end year list for album covers, “Heir” should get a high ranking there too.



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user ratings (53)
3.7
great


Comments:Add a Comment 
NightOnDrunkMountain
Staff Reviewer
March 7th 2025


1004 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Releasing today via Season of Mist:



https://thisgiftisacurse.bandcamp.com/album/heir

Hawks
Contributing Reviewer
March 7th 2025


99612 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

LETS GOOOOO!!!!

FearThyEvil
March 7th 2025


18996 Comments


love this band

osmark86
March 7th 2025


11815 Comments


My wife is childhood friends with Patrik (guitarist, backup singer). He's a really cool guy so glad to see his art getting attention in here.

NexCeleris
Staff Reviewer
March 7th 2025


1844 Comments


Great rev.

FearThyEvil
March 7th 2025


18996 Comments


osmark, tell them to come to Philly lol. I'd buy a ticket asap

artificialbox
Staff Reviewer
March 7th 2025


3367 Comments


Was curious about this one, thanks for reviewing it man. Defs gonna check it out now.

Pikazilla
March 7th 2025


31861 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

aoty so far

teamster
March 7th 2025


6362 Comments


Been a fan of this band from the very beginning. Can’t wait to listen.

Hawks
Contributing Reviewer
March 7th 2025


99612 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

Same. Gonna listen tonight. Can't wait.

NightOnDrunkMountain
Staff Reviewer
March 7th 2025


1004 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

You'll seriously dig Hawks

Hawks
Contributing Reviewer
March 7th 2025


99612 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

I will let you know after I jam!!

Dewinged
Staff Reviewer
March 7th 2025


32617 Comments


Love that artwork

Hawks
Contributing Reviewer
March 8th 2025


99612 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

Yep...this is incredible.

Ectier
March 8th 2025


3691 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off

Ive gottq jam this soon

Voivod
Staff Reviewer
March 8th 2025


11170 Comments


Great stuff, somehow it is reminiscent of Red Harvest.

If I had to pick an album, I'd say Internal Punishment Programs.

Thanks for disseminating this.

Dedes
Contributing Reviewer
March 8th 2025


11133 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

My lord how can a man forget will jam soon

Dedes
Contributing Reviewer
March 8th 2025


11133 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Best scremz in bm maybe ever??? Whew lad

God BLESS

NightOnDrunkMountain
Staff Reviewer
March 8th 2025


1004 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Great to see people appreciating the band!

Hawks
Contributing Reviewer
March 8th 2025


99612 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

Easily their best album and the previous 2 were amazing too. Also easily in my top 2 favorites so far this year. Saor is still my frontrunner but man there's been some really great stuff put out in the past few weeks.



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