UMUR
"The Curse..." is the 3rd full-length studio album by French thrash metal act E-Force. The album was released through Mausoleum Records in April 2014. E-Force was formed in 2001 by former Voivod vocalist/bassist Eric Forrest after he left Voivod (he recorded "Negatron (1995)" and "Phobos (1997)" with them). After releasing the E-Force debut full-length studio album "Evil Forces" in 2003, Forrest relocated from Canada to France and assembled a new lineup for the recording of the sophomore album "Modified Poison (2008)". Then a longer recording break followed before E-Force returned with "The Curse...", which could be called a comeback album after a 6 year long recording break.
Stylistically the music on the album more or less continues down the same aggressive and occasionally semi-progressive thrash metal path as "Modified Poison (2008)" tread. It´s still Eric Forrest-era Voivod which is the most obvious musical reference, but E-Force is generally a bit more hard edged and aggressive. "The Curse..." is a concept album concerning the power of women and how far men (and some women) will go to get laid. I´ve read an interview with Forrest where he mentions Tiger Woods as a good example of that.
After a short atmospheric intro ("Invitation") which features a woman moaning in what sounds like sexual ecstacy, the album kicks off with "Perverse Media", and never looks back until it closes with "The Curse Of The Cunt". The album is stylistically very consistent, but unfortunatly also a bit one-dimensional. Every track on the album is of a good quality if you listen to them out of context, but as an album "The Curse..." could have prospered from a bit more variation between tracks. When that is said it´s still a pretty good listening experience. Forrest´s vocals are delivered with the right aggressive snarling attitude, the playing is tight, and the blistering guitar solos add another important dimension to the music.
The album features a powerful, raw, and generally well sounding production, which suits the music well. So upon conclusion "The Curse..." is a relatively great album by E-Force. A bit more variation in the songwriting department and it could have been excellent. As it is a 3.5 star (70%) rating is still deserved though.