Curse of Khatru – Curse of Khatru

vote
6.0

• Band:
  Curse of Khatru
• Duration: 00:40:00
• Available from: 03/14/2025
• Label:

• FDA Records

Streaming not yet available

The Curse of Khatru debuts on the Death Metal scene with a full-length of the same name published by the FDA Records, a German label known above all for his commitment in promoting the Old School cut bands. The group, apparently popped out of nowhere, decides to skip the demo and EP phase to present itself directly with a complete album, an ambitious choice and which immediately places expectations.
Musically, the Teutonic band moves on well -defined coordinates, drawing on full hands from the European death metal of the early nineties. The Swedish matrix is ​​evident, with influences that range from the first Edge of Sanity to the Desultory, thus preferring the most melodic current and 'alternative' that characterized part of the Scandinavian scene in competition with the Stockholm circuit of those years. To make everything a little more varied, the Curse of Khatru then insert some situations in the name of a Deathroom capable of evoking the first Paradise Lost and, in part, the cemerits of the debut “An evil shade of Gray”, although without reaching the same depth of language.
All in all, the album shows its best side when the band opts for plots with the most pronounced melodies, in which guitars try to go in search of a mixture between aggression and introspection. In these cases, the solos also make a good impression, which appear cured and casual.
On the other hand, when it is a question of proposing arrembling songs, more in line with the classic Swedish Death Metal, the effect is less incisive: although it is not lacking in executive competence, the feeling is that the band cannot emerge in an already widely explored and saturated panorama of similar proposals.
The main weak point of the album probably lies in its excessive duration compared to the ideas put on the field. The tracklist, although consistent in the style, is dispersive and in the long run to keep attention high. Perhaps a more targeted approach, such as the initial release of a demo or an EP, would have allowed the trio to refine its songwriting before facing the creation of a full-length.
Despite this, pieces such as “Grotesque Enigma”, “To Fill a Void” and “Cut” are distinguished by a more inspired writing and greater effectiveness in combining melody and impact. These songs allow to glimpse a potential that could emerge with greater maturation and finishing in future works.
You can therefore see the debut of the Curse of Khatru as a work with some good ideas, but still unripe in the overall management. If on the one hand the formation shows that it has the right influences and a discreet stylistic mastery, on the other it has yet to find its own distinctive identity and a balance between the different elements that characterize the musical proposal.
A dignified debut, but which leaves room for improvements in view of a possible second chapter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omhuy3zruca