I have always known and recognized that Swedish death metal has the best hooks, melodies and catchiest riffs written in the entire world.

They might not be the best death metal scene, but the way most of their bands handle their melodies and immerse then into brutality while never forgetting the listener’s ear and its search for something to hold on to has always given us some of the most memorable bands, albums and sounds in the genre. In Aeternum follows that “tradition” step by step, and Curse of Devastation becomes for me a great remainder of why I love bands like Dismember, Entombed, Unleashed and The Crown.

Perhaps this small Ep is not enough (if this is your first ever In Aeternum album) to actually know what this band is all about, or even if this is their trademark sound, but it does serve a very good purpose and that is to waked our curiosity to explore their 9 year career.

Been a very well put together Ep “Curse of Devastation” displays different approaches in what death metal seems to signify to this fellows. While the title track that is the intro track introduces us to a dark death metal, the follow up “Consume” provides a lighter, more rhythmic and “catchier” song, with soft, yet penetrating guitar lines that duplicate the dimension in which In Aeternum presents itself as a band; the tempos and the speed of the songs are also very well balanced and play a significant factor when it comes to keep the production interesting while been brutal… in other words they never get boring!

What I liked about this album was the fact that it could be brutal, satanic, heavy, fast and very, very melodic and understandable, this guys don’t just put riffs to make the song heavier or more “metal” they do it because they have a meaning in the whole concept of the song; take for example “New world flirt” which manages to include a couple of what can be called “technical” guitar lines, something that is not repeated in the rest of the ep but it fits the song perfectly.

“Curse Of Devastation” is a great Ep one of the few good Ep’s that actually accomplishes what an Ep stands for, something short that must cause interest in the listener for the upcoming material… mission accomplished!!!