The mountains of Northern Spain are home to some idyllic scenery for ramblers, walkers and metalheads(?) Yes, it's true. Pagan Folk Metal band INCURSED have plied their trade since 2007, with successful tours and releases under their belts its time for the most recent release, "Baskavigin", this should be good.

The artwork plays to the Pagan themes, with a long ship battling a monumental wave. It'll sit well along many others from the genre. Opening the album, is "1615 (Intro)" and the instant atmosphere is one of calm and serenity, with the peaceful music and birdsong... I can't help but feel that something ominous and heavy lays over the horizon. And I was right, the tracking melds seamlessly into "Baskavigin" at a breakneck speed. The dual melodies of the guitar keeping the dense and intense music light and airy, there is just the purest form of energy emulating throughout. I think that the way the music ebbs and flows is just truly beautiful.

INCURSED have managed to pen a tragic story that many a reader will relate to. The story of an individual and their quest to find and reclaim a lost beverage. I have lost count of how many times at a festival, a show or just a party I have asked "Who Stole My Beer?" and now there is the perfect track for me to vent my feelings, almost like a track from an adult Disney film. There is an ever-present power and energy to the album that has grasped me in such a way that I am lost in the brutal blast beats, intense guitar lines and enchanting vocals. It never wanes it just delivers blow after telling blow of powerful music.  "The Black Hunter", "Colossal" and "Eusko Troll Label" are all similar tracks, in that they are from the INCURSED sound; but each delivers something slightly different. Cutting different angles and approaching the structures and overall ambience from different positions, it is fantastic to see the depth and strengths from the band.

Jumping forward to the final track "Saltus Eta Ager", this ten-minute epic is everything that is fantastic about the album. It takes all of the best parts from the record and melds them into a flowing demonstration of the skills and passion that INCURSED quite clearly have for their craft. Overall, this is an excellent album, and I would advise anyone to get their hands on this, it is everything you would need to lift your spirits.