Arcane Existence - The Dark Curse

#FOR FANS OF: Melodic Black/Death Metal, Thulcandra, Paimonia

Formed just in 2016, California-based melodic black/death metallers Arcane Existence have been taking their influences and running it through the deep lows and emotional highs as they adapt a storyline involving the TV show ‘Once Upon a Time.’ As for the music itself, the group displays a rather adept and profound mixture of stylish symphonic elements within the melodic black/death realm. The fiery tremolo riffing is generally tight and up-tempo, raging along with a galloping pace which generates a rather fun and frantic charge here while engaging the blistering symphonics here. That is far more impactful throughout the album, going for grandiose elements that are far more dynamic than the majority of the riff-work featured here not only in terms of featuring the melodic flurries but also focusing on the massive orchestral sounds when placed alongside these engaging tremolo patterns. It tends to get a little overloaded with the symphonics to the detriment of the riff-work, especially in ‘Reshaping History’ and ‘Bleeding Through’ which showcase this quite effectively. On the other side of the spectrum, ‘Welcome to Storybrooke,’ ‘The Dark One’ and ‘Magic’ offer more traditional elements that make for a strongly balanced and engaging first step that comes off far better than expected for a debut. (Don Anelli)

(Self - 2017)
Score: 75

https://arcaneexistence.bandcamp.com/album/the-dark-curse