Album of the Week – August 10, 2026

In this week’s entry of Roland’s pick for Metal Album of the Week series, I wanted to highlight arguably my favourite Grindcore album of all time.

Album: “Cursed”

Band:  Rotten Sound

They hail from the Vaasa in Finland, and this album will raise your heart rate. Read on to learn more!
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Whenever I’m in the mood for blistering blast beats and pure sonic violence, Rotten Sound is one of the first bands I reach for.

In fact, there’s a particular live video of theirs that I find myself revisiting regularly. Every time I watch it, I’m reminded of why I love this band so much. The intensity is unbelievable. The music feels relentless, like a freight train barreling toward you at full speed with absolutely no intention of slowing down.
(Video below: Click here)

It’s aggressive, chaotic, and completely exhilarating.

I was recently reminded of a funny memory involving that video.
Last Thanksgiving, I had a few friends over for turkey dinner, and at some point I put on the Rotten Sound footage. My drummer friend watched for a few moments before blurting out:

“THAT DRUMMER IS FAST AS FUCK!”

It still makes me laugh every time I think about it.

“And inevitably, every time I watch that performance, I end up wanting to listen to my favourite Rotten Sound album: Cursed”.

What can I really say about this record other than: FUCK YES!

I absolutely love this album!

From beginning to end, “Cursed” delivers exactly what I want from Grindcore.
The riffs are catchy, the drumming is phenomenal, and the vocals sound like they’re ripping straight through the speakers. Every song feels purposeful and packed with energy. It’s one of those albums that flows so naturally that once I start listening, I have a hard time turning it off.

The intensity never feels forced. It simply feels like Rotten Sound knows exactly what they want to do and executes it flawlessly.

Now, I should probably confess something: I’m actually not the biggest Grindcore fan in the world.

As a genre, Grindcore often isn’t my first choice.
On paper, it should! Aggression, blastbeasts and leftist politics? That sounds like my jam!
But a lot of the riffs simply doesn’t connect with me the way death metal, thrash metal, and doom metal do.

But every once in a while, I find a Grindcore album that scratches that particular itch for violence, aggression, and raw intensity.

When that happens, I’m completely sold.

And honestly, when a Grindcore record really clicks with me, I often end up enjoying it more than many death metal albums. There’s a certain edge to great Grindcore that’s difficult to describe.
It’s a feeling more than a sound. When it’s done the way I like it, it captures a level of urgency and hostility that few genres can match.

“Cursed” is one of those albums.

Rotten Sound has always been one of those bands for me. I’ve enjoyed most of their discography, but “Cursed” remains my favourite release they’ve ever put out. It’s intense, heavy, oddly melodic at times, and above all, intentional.

Every riff feels like it belongs.

Every blast beat serves a purpose.

Every song hits exactly where it needs to.

If you’ve never checked out Rotten Sound before, this is the album I’d recommend starting with.

As for seeing them live, unfortunately I haven’t had the chance yet.
But it’s high on my bucket list. If their live performances are anything like the videos I’ve watched over the years, it’s going to be absolute chaos. I will likely have a sore neck the next day!

As far as production goes, there’s one word that immediately comes to mind:

THICK!

This album sounds absolutely massive.

One of my favorite aspects of the mix is how beautifully the HM-2 guitar tones blend with the bass guitar.
The two elements work together to create a wall of sound that feels heavy without becoming muddy.
It’s incredibly satisfying to listen to.

Another thing that stands out to me is the handling of the upper-midrange frequencies.
These guitar tones rely heavily on the critical 2 kHz to 5 kHz range for their bite, aggression, and clarity.
This area of the spectrum is notoriously easy to overdo, resulting in a harsh or fatiguing mix.

Not here!

The balance is spot on. The guitars cut through with all the aggression you’d expect from Rotten Sound, but they never become unpleasant or abrasive.
Everything feels powerful, controlled, and intentional.

It’s honestly an excellent-sounding record.

I listen to albums like this and think: “This mix is SO GOOD!”

Maybe one day I’ll make my mixes sound as good as this one.

Until then, I’ll keep studying records like Cursed and enjoying every second of them.

Highly recommended!

Favourite tracks: “Superior” and “Self”

Playlist