29th July 2024

Review: “Nothing Left to Give” by Living Cursed (2nd Anniversary)

Hailing from San Fernando Valley, Living Cursed are a five piece who have built a solid reputation for themselves since forming in 2019. Inspired by the Harcore end of the 2000’s Metalcore era which saw bands like Bury Your Dead, Eighteen Visions and Throwdown rise to prominence, they offer something with a different dynamic as they cathartically vent over riffs from forged from the finest of steel. A lack of smaller local venues in which to pay their dues meant the band had to travel far and wide to establish a fan base but having returned with a sophomore self titled record in 2024, it’s safe to say they survived. Recorded, mixed and mastered at Bright Lights Studio by Erol Ulug (Duhkha, Teeth), it’s time to let Doc Brown take us back to where it all began in 2022.

In interviews around the time of the records release the band described how they had written twelve cuts for their debut record and consolidated down by breaking them up and piecing together the best elements of each one. While it sounds complicated, that process has effectively refined the quintets sound and made “Nothing Left to Give” a lean, mean bar fighting machine, a brawler capable of going the distance. Flavours of early Lamb Of God and A Life Once Lost have deeply penetrated opener “Desolation” like a marinade and give the riffs an instant appeal in groove laden familiarity. The band seeking to start small fires and mosh pits rather than blow you away with their technicalities and the formula works by doing exactly what it set out to, elevating a more straightforward sound with verve and swagger to make it sound greater than the sum of its parts. The fierce barked vocals of “No Good” make it a rant that resonates while the backing vocal has gang chanted vibes that are going to get the crowd screaming back live.

Studio guru Erol Ulug joins the band for “Dull“, a track which is anything but as harsh unclean vocal lines are traded like punches between prize fighters. Piling up the breakdown orientated riffage like pancake stacks at an American Diner avoids the need for any sinister synths or blistering solos as the band bludgeon the listener to death with their rhythmic gymnastics. A demonstration of grit and integrity “Puke” is an admission of having issues with insomnia and self sabotage that will bring out the two steppers because it skips over the woe is me aspect of Nu-Metal and tells it like it is. Real pain. Real tears. Real blood shed for years to get here. The earworm riffs feel endless by the time “Contemn” hits, the early 2000’s sound nailed perfectly throughout this debut EP. Slowing things down a notch for the brutal chorus wrapped in chunky palm muted power ensures that every last word can be crammed in before a savage breakdown. Make no mistake, these songs carry a weight upon their shoulders, each one offering catharsis from the existence we call life. What’s great about them is that despite the negatively framed lyrical narrative, the riffs and Mosh parts are old school fun so you can just close your mind in pure escapism and get it the pit for stage dives and high fives [7.5/10]

Track Listing