Review: “Curse Of The Pharaoh” by Humator

Albums have been few and far between for Italian German Death Metallers Humator who originally formed in Sicily in 2003 and a trio of new members since their 2009 concept album “Memories From The Abyss“, based on the holocaust of WW2. Having recently signed to Italian label Time To Kill Records the band, who after several line up changes seeing orginal pairing Rhythm Guitarist Ray Caltagirone and drummer Piero Geloso joined by lead guitarist Antonino Durante, vocalist Michael Bach and bassist Simon Moch. Together they are finally ready to unleash their second album, “Curse of the Pharaoh” more than a decade on and as the title suggests the work is inspired by Egyptian mythology and classic fantasy…

…the current line up of Humator has been in place since 2018 so some may consider this a whole new band entirely despite the original axis of evil at it’s beating black heart but either way, “Curse of the Pharaoh” is a beast of a record in keeping with the bands older material. Lead single “Anachronism” has been around since December 2020 with the album recorded at Kick Recording Studio in Rome with Marco “Cinghio” Mastrobuono (Hour Of Penance, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Inno), the track being a back breaking journey through tempos shifting like the desert sands, slow and heavy or fast and brutal, very much in the Groove Death mould and a fine example of what this album is about. “Djed” brings a sumptuous solo and blast beats galore as the band crush anything and everything that stands in their path without batting an eyelid. They reference influences in Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corpse however there are also distinctive flavours of the likes of Chimaira in the way the band attack, especially their use of programming to add minor embellishments to these cuts and lead flares, the title track being a prime example. Dark and sinister with an extended solo that offers a menacing touch, “Into the Crypt” is the slow skull crushing blunt force trauma that every self respecting Death Metal album should have in its armoury, the vocal laying offering a shriller scathing touch to Bach’s brutal bark.

The acoustic finale of that one acts as a moment of calm before the black winds of plague of appear on the darkening horizon with “Sadness” which offers something different with flavours of Beatdown Deathcore brought into the usual Death Metal stylings for a short, fast brutal excursion that decimates the weak and floods the mosh pit at any venue that the band should grace. Atmospheric acoustic interlude of “Nynu” effectively splits the album in half like a sword through the skull with the band not afraid to experiment; what that does is mean that the track that follows it in “Apep” hits that much harder as it follows out of the gate while the modern production gives everything a more brutal edge than the bands older works. Chant along classic “Born to be Sacrificed” will get fists and drinks in the air before the helter skelter riffs of the title track slow things down considerably for another mesmerizing technical solo. As good as it is “Arisen From The Ashes” actually sounds like an encore at the end of the album which came to a more natural conclusion with the title track, if it wasn’t for the narrative running through the record it would actually be better placed in the middle of the record. That being said, always fiery and ferocious, never giving an inch and always taking a mile, Humator have become powerhouse, a heavyweight contender that knows no fear and have created together a Death Groove album of the finest order [8/10]

Track listing

1. Intro
2. Anachronism
3. Djed
4. Into the Crypt
5. Sadness
6. Nynu (Instrumental)
7. Apep
8. Corporal Mortification
9. Born to be Sacrificed
10. Curse of the Pharaoh
11. Arisen from the Ashes

“Curse Of The Pharaoh” by Humator is out 28th February via Time To Kill Records