Noekk is a new acquaintance for me, a German duo delivering quite challenging music. This album consists of 4 tracks spread out over 30 minutes, where the first, the title track stands as the strongest for me.
It starts out as a golden Iron Maiden attack, before it turns into old school progressive doom, without is sounds dusty. A lot of great musicianship, a very well written tune, which takes us on an almost 8 minute journey. A journey that offer us ups and downs, really well performed atmospheres and godly parts and shifts. Especially the vocal performance throughout the track is astonishing.
The second track is more a more power fuelled attack with awesome power chords and Hammond sounding keys and a powerful vocal assault. Yet a nice example of a well written tune with shifting atmospheres and an energetic deliverance.
The 2 last tracks are quite experimenting in terms of song structures and build-ups, and they loose some of the momentum the 2 first tracks have. They seem a bit off at times, and demand a great deal of the listeners. Though they keep the great mystical, doomy and melancholic atmosphere, which runs through the album as a red thread.
"The Minstrel's Curse" is a great album, when it is given some time to sink in, it is very straight ahead at times, and very twisted at others, though due to good musicianship and composing skills, it all end up good, exciting, organic and very atmospheric.
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AUTHOR: Nocturnal DK
A Danish metalhead on the way to become old, enjoys most types of metal, though brutality and darkness are mostly preferred, and too modern takes on metal are not always positively looked upon. Have been writing about metal for 10 years in own and at other publications as Fishcomcollective, Ancient Ceremonies, Northern Shadows and now Corazine and the upcoming Terror Propaganda (might have forgotten a few, come and kick my arse!).