Cursed

A great release that should never have to exist, The Last Session provides a five-song epitaph for Toronto, ON's formidable heavy music mongers Cursed. Breaking up after an ill-fated European tour for then-greatest achievement III, these tunes are recorded live off the floor circa 2008 by the BBC, giving a new sensation to already admired music. Faster, more aggressive and passionate, the songs ― and therefore seven-inch ― are a feverish blast of bittersweet salt in the wound. The Last Session is so raw, apocalyptic and ravenous that while furiously engaged, we're only reminded of exactly what the world of doom-influenced hardcore lost with Cursed's dissolution. An ingenious touch, all three of the band's official albums are represented here, with II's "Reparations" kicking off the experience and I's "Promised Land" and "Polygraph" rounding out the first side. While never in danger of seeming contrived on III, both "Antihero Resuscitator" and "Into The Hive" on the second side are expressly overwhelming, thanks to an imposing dirge and unbridled aggression. Thrown onto bleak purple and black vinyl, The Last Session is horrible for the loss it represents, yet impeccable for what it offers.