Burnt Offerings was self-recorded and produced by Discord Curse’s guitarist, Derek Petrika and vocalist Antonio Jandro, resulting in admittedly impressive sound quality for a swiftly made and homebrewed debut. The first track is attention-grabbing, exhibiting excellently executed tempo changes and noticeable energy that kept me hooked. The vocals are monstrous and display an effective range, but the drumming talent is truly the outstanding element throughout “#Bandwhore (ft. Johnny McBee of The Browning).” Despite the fact that cliché deathcore “group chants” haven’t been cool since Attila’s Soundtrack to a Party, this opening song is my overall favorite.

 

Next up is “Forsaken,” a wonderfully evil-sounding track that kicks off with a thrashing riff that instantly reminded me of KMFDM’s classic “Godlike” in the very best way possible; definite kudos are due. As the second song progresses, it begins to lose momentum and feel a bit confused with a muffled vocal track that eventually meshes with some metalcore-esque clean vocals. Blast beat drumming and harmonized guitar cuts are the glue holding this tune together.

 

The third track, “The Rage Of Tybalt,” is pretty much all around fantastic and dripping in Discord’s musical confidence. Prudently balancing deathcore with metalcore tells me that these guys are still figuring out exactly how they want to sound, but when they pick a definite direction they will execute it masterfully.

 

Burnt Offerings wraps up with “Anathematize The Bleeding,” a finale full of grooving riffs and consistent verve that prevent any sort of the all-too-common staleness of generic deathcore songs. This one is enjoyable enough to where the five-minute duration feels more like thirty seconds by the time the finishing piano solo rolls in, leaving me surprised at how the time flew while using this as my soundtrack as I destroyed my refrigerator’s broken ice maker.

 

Judging by their serial channel episodes and updates on YouTube (DCTV), Discord Curse seems like a genuinely cool bunch of kids with pure intent and dedicated ambition. Having myself been in a small-time local band, I remember how much fun it is to mess around with great friends and create music instead of just listening to it, and it is easy to recognize that these five young Minnesotans are having a blast doing what they love. They have played numerous shows with some popular bands – including the always badass Suffokate – and continue tearing up local gigs. If in the Owatonna vicinity, booking information can be found on their Facebook page. Otherwise, be sure to check out Burnt Offerings for free on Discord Curse’s Bandcamp or New Noise Magazine’s free stream.