What happens when you take black metal, add some dungeon synth, then drop it into an industrial mixer with an accordion? You get Siege Ubsessed!, the new album by Curta’n Wall.
Growled black metal vocals? Check. Blast beats? Got ‘em. Bells and chimes for mood? Yup, they’re here. Accordion? Um, well, yeah, we uh, we got that too. Tin whistle? I, uh, I mean, sure… But there’s even some rock style guitar solos! The dichotomy of black metal and quirky Ren-faire folk shouldn’t work, but somehow it does, mostly by not taking itself too seriously. Don’t get me wrong, the armored warrior behind Curta’n Wall, aka Abysmal Specter, is a talented musician – this isn’t a comedy record, and the songs aren’t jokes. They’re well constructed and well executed, just with a mischievous grin lurking underneath that helmet visor. Some guest vocals break up the guttural black metal delivery, and if I’m being honest those are some of the best tracks on the album.
Siege Ubsessed! has been showing up a lot of late on social media if you follow the right hashtags, so I decided to track down a copy. It was a bit tough to find for a bit, and while there are a few copies listed on Discogs, they’re pricey at around $50 each. I was lucky enough to find one via London’s amazing metal shop Crypt of the Wizard, and even with shipping from the UK the price was reasonable. There are at least four different color versions on vinyl, put out by Phantom Lure, as well as cassette and CD formats by Grime Stone Records.