Devil Sold His Soul have always been one of the outstanding, if a little under-appreciated, post-whateveryoudecidetocallittoday bands since their inception, and ‘Blessed & Cursed’ should do much to cement their reputation.
It’s hard to find bands that take time to meticulously construct songs that feel like they get from start to end in a natural fashion, rather than assembling around form and just getting there just because ‘that’s how it works’.
Obviously, when you’ve got ten songs largely consisting of soaring crescendos and the two shortest are longer than 3 and 4 minutes you’re going to go over a few heads, but it’s more than definitely part of the charm. If, like Devil Sold His Soul, you’re riding the fine line between epic and ‘this song should finished 2 minutes ago’, then you’ve got to be careful, but the band get the formula right time and time again throughout the and ‘Bleessed & Cursed’ moves from song to song effortlessly.
Ed Gibbs’ vocal delivery is spectacular throughout, and his character and versatility gives the band a lift well beyond many of the others riding their jet stream. This is pretty much as close to a balance between the brutal and the thoroughly listenable that you’re going to get, and though the band still really come into their own live, this is a great listen for any metal/post-hardcore fans.