Swiss heavyweights Paleface Swiss return with Cursed, their third full-length album, and a testament to their dominance in modern extreme metal. Following the success of Fear & Dagger (2022), Cursed is an unrelenting force that showcases the band’s mastery of brutality while embracing new depths of emotional and conceptual storytelling.
Each track on Cursed is paired with a flower representing a specific struggle, a unique artistic touch that contrasts beauty with the album’s unyielding heaviness. Crafted in the secluded Canary Islands, the album exudes raw emotion, reflecting the band’s personal highs and lows over the past two years. Frontman Marc “Zelli” Zellweger’s vocal versatility—seamlessly oscillating between rap-style cadence and guttural screams—delivers powerful narratives of frustration, despair, and resilience.
The intro, “Un Pobre Niño Murió”, sets a haunting tone, reimagining a chilling Canary Islands lullaby. Its eerie ambiance flows into the explosive “Hatred”, a standout lead single embodying the band’s signature fusion of thrash-inspired solos, ten-tonne riffs, and nu-metal groove. This track encapsulates Paleface Swiss’s frustration with modern negativity, channeling it into a cathartic anthem.
Speaking on the track, Marc “Zelli” Zellweger shares, “When you’re a kid growing up, you’re happy and you think everything is cool, but nowadays, every time you open your phone, it’s just a flood of negativity. We’re bombarded with so much bad news every day that finding anything positive feels nearly impossible. ‘Hatred’ is us venting our frustration about the things we can’t change. It may not be as deep as the other tracks on the album, but it’s for everyone who’s fed up with the constant negativity in the world. For the music video, we wanted to keep it simple and raw–a no-nonsense, old-school performance video with us going as hard as we can in a room. There are, however, a few easter eggs hidden in there that will make more sense as we release more videos from this album.”
“Hatred” is a relentless powerhouse, with Zelli’s rapid-fire vocals slicing through a maelstrom of riffs and Cassiano “Cassi” Toma’s pummeling drumming. “Don’t You Ever Stop” blends Yannick Lehmann’s relentless six-string brutality with Tommy-Lee Abt’s thunderous basslines, creating an irresistible headbanger. “Youth Decay” delves into the fragility of young minds in a chaotic world, mixing Yannick Lehmann’s frantic-paced guitar riffs with bone-crushing breakdowns. “Love Burns” and “River of Sorrows” close the album with an emotionally charged crescendo, marrying heaviness with poignant melodies.
Fear & Dagger cemented Paleface Swiss’s place in the “New Wave of Deathcore,” but Cursed raises the stakes. The band expands their sound by integrating conceptual depth without losing their ferocious edge. The production, guided by Ron Steven Deris and Florent Salfati, is crisp yet retains the raw energy that fans crave. The Canarian influence, subtle but significant, adds a unique flavor to the record.
With Cursed, Paleface Swiss have delivered their most ambitious and personal album to date. It’s a visceral journey that balances unrelenting aggression with introspective lyricism, ensuring its place as one of 2025’s most impactful extreme metal releases. For fans and newcomers alike, Cursed is a must-listen—a sonic juggernaut that leaves you battered, inspired, and hungry for more.
Tracklist:
- Un Pobre Niño Murió
- Hatred
- …and with hope you’ll be damned
- Don’t You Ever Stop
- Enough
- Youth Decay
- My Blood On Your Hands
- Love Burns
- River Of Sorrows
PALEFACE SWISS Are:
Vox: Marc “Zelli” Zellweger
Guitar: Yannick Lehmann
Bass: Tommy-Lee Abt
Drums: Cassiano ‘Cassi’ Toma
Find Paleface Swiss Online
www.palefaceswiss.com
