I have returned kids, unbroken and unbeaten, toiling madly at difficult goals, but was it worth it? Would I do it all again? The answer kids, is yes, because I am truly Metal, and that’s what Metal people do, they….do….things…again….erm...right….onto Osmose’s newest baby, SULPHUR.

SULPHUR formed from the ashes of the defunct TAAKERIKET, the band was originally four members strong and released a demo with said lineup entitled “A Relic For The Damned”, after a lapse in productivity the band returned with “Outburst Of Desecration” which landed them a deal with Osmose Productions and this leads us to the current album under fire: “Cursed Madness”.

Now this isn’t groundbreaking, I’m going to get that off the bat right away, SULPHUR just simply makes a rock solid album with “Cursed Madness”. The riffs are catchy and brutal, the drumming is tight and varied and the vocals are a good mix of a Death growls and Black screams. The production is solid, as are all Osmose productions, with clear and precise instrument sounds, making this album easy on the ears.

If I had to guess what label SULPHUR belonged to, I would guess Osmose as SULPHUR sounds like it would be on Osmose, and in particular SULPHUR sounds a lot like labelmates YYRKOON, but without the major Thrash/Death Metal influences…….or awesomeness.  

Highlights of the album are “Two Thousand Years Of Plague” which has a killer vibe to it, and a really nice intro, “The Descent” which is an ambient track that is really creepy, the piano is unnerving but it works well. The title track is also pretty killer, as it goes from really heavy to slow and melodic then to ambient and dark, a great song indeed. The finisher “Master Of Storms” is also a great song, with awesome Death vokills and some really great drum work.

So you’re probably wondering if you should spend your hard earned cash on this release, and for what it’s worth I would say yes, “Cursed Madness” is a solid slab of Death Metal that will fix any YYRKOON junky (myself included) until the next album comes out or for those looking for a good balance of Blackened vocals and Death riffing, as this is a prime example of what a solid band can do with both genres.

(Online March 21, 2007)