Listen: Burzum + The Cure = Curezum

Did you know that an alt-country darling released his own version of a chart-topping pop album a few months ago? Yep, the Dave Grohl of singer-songwriters, Ryan Adams, has rolled out a cover of Taylor Swift’s entire blockbuster album 1989. It’s not a publicity stunt, ho no, it’s a statement about the quality of 1989‘s content and a burn on music people who punish a good song for the crimes of its performer(s). The only trouble is that this idea takes for granted that non-fans of Swift’s 1989 don’t respect her ace songwriting team, that their handiwork needs a rescue, and that Adams’ vibe is an upgrade from Swift’s. That’s a hat trick of “fuck no.”

Basically as an afterthought, Adams’ new 1989 still serves some listeners: those burned out on Swift’s 1989 and those for whom an old man-shaped cliche is more relatable than a silly young diva. Similarly clever but way more loveable, metal mash-up project Curezum doesn’t face this battle. Metal in general already worships the band’s source material — the darkest stuff by post-punk gloom titans The Cure — so Curezum isn’t here to vouch for it. And no member of Curezum is recognizable like Adams — just members of Megaton Leviathan and Barrowlands, plus rad producer Billy Anderson — so no baggage. That means it’s a smaller task for Curezum to be as good as it is novel, this nudging into black metal of the already hellish suicide-gaze assault of The Cure’s Pornography and The Top albums. An full-length is in the works, first two tracks below (via Cvlt Nation). Crank it up!!

Curezum’s “One Hundred Years” b/w “The Top” cassingle (!) is out January 8 via Static Tension. Pre-order here and digital here.