16th December 2020

Review: “Book of Eibon” by Curse of Eibon

A Melodic Death Metal band with a taste for occult themes, Curse of Eibon hail from Sweden with members in their ranks from Reek, Stone Brigade and Cynical Existence in Fredrik Croona (Vocals, Lyrics, programming), Martin Antonsson (Guitar, mixing and mastering), Mathias Back (Bass) and Anders Ström (Drums). Their debut together takes them down a road of madness and cosmic horrors, to hell and back across five songs which find their inspirations from the works of Clark Ashton Smith and H.P. Lovecraft…

…Cynical Existence vocalist Fredrik Croona has a fine story telling vocal style for this new project and brings not only synths but orchestration which underpins each song adding a depth and texture. The opening cut “Book of Eibon” refers to the rarest of occult volumes and is attributed to Clark Ashton Smith while being said to be his equivalent of Lovecraft’s “Necronomicon“. Curse of Eibon take the notions and breathe into them a sinister undertone with mid tempo chugger of a song that opens the gates of hell and summons forth demons using the book of evil. “Dagon” then sees that beast rise from the black depths with some help on the lyrics from Erik Bröms and a heavier approach with dark grooves. The prayer incantation passage into the final third of the song builds atmosphere and works really well before the final onslaught of riffs with momentary lead licks buried in the mix that bleed out with each repeated listen in tasteful fashion.

“Seek To Destroy” is the song that In Flames wish that they could create at this point in their career, the warm synths injecting an almost ethereal quality into the brooding riffs that are backed off by that clenched fist of defiance. You seek to destroy me? You don’t stand a chance. “Tsathouggan” tells the tale of a supernatural entity in the Cthulhu Mythos shared fictional universe, described as an old God like being from the pantheon and Croona paints his words in blood over some seamless tempo shifts as those interweaving synths knit together the EP as a whole. Ström’s galloping percussive performance is a stand out and elevates the whole song before “Athu” seduces with some darker riffs as Croona finds some new lows with his guttural vocals. Each piece of music is a dark wave that carries you on an immersive journey and there is very much the desire to hear more of these tales by the bitter end [7.5/10]

Track listing