Cursed (band)
Encyclopedia
Cursed was a hardcore punk
band featuring former and current members of numerous other Canadian DIY bands spanning from the early 1990s to the present, such as Haymaker, Left for Dead, The Swarm aka Knee Deep in the Dead, Acrid, Ruination, The Black Hand, Countdown to Oblivion, At the Mercy of Inspiration
, Shallow North Dakota
, Crux of Aux, Quest for Fire
, Burning Love
and more.
History, Reputation and Trademarks
Formed in 2001 a year after the break-up of The Swarm aka Knee Deep in the Dead (three members' previous band), the founding lineup was originally split between different parts of Quebec and Ontario, Canada, but (following Moumneh's sudden move home to Lebanon), shifted to Toronto and Hamilton. Known for their trademark nihilistic and dystopian lyrical themes, stark classic horror imagery and loud, abrasive live shows, the band have toured worldwide and released records on Boston's Deathwish Inc, Ontario's Goodfellow Records, Syracuse's Hex Records and Providence's Trash Art Label. Cursed's debut I made immediate impact in their scene and garnered wide cult support. It was followed up with Cursed II, and the picture-disc EP Blackout At Sunrise in between, in the same year that also saw a release of a 180gr vinyl only gatefold reissue of 2003's "I" on the Providence RI label Trash Art.
In 2007 they finished up their third LP, "III: Architects of Troubled Sleep", which was released in 2008 through Goodfellow Records in North America, Howling Bull in Japan and in Europe through Dutch label Reflections. "III" was produced at Toronto's Hallamusic studio, mixed by long time friend and collaborator Donny Cooper, and mastered by Alan Douches at WestWestSide (NJ), with cover art by Baroness' John Dyer Baizley
. For its release, as opposed to the international touring they had come to spend a lot of time doing, the band played six weekends of strictly Southern Ontario DIY shows in as many houses, basements, record stores, bedrooms and Anarchist/DIY spaces as possible. The official Toronto release show was at a sold out Lee's Palace, with friends 50Watthead, Career Suicide
and Living Darkness.
Breakup
On May 22, 2008, singer Chris Colohan announced on the band's blog that the band had been robbed on the last morning of their European tour, losing their passports, all of their money and tour expenses in the night, from within a purportedly secure building in a German squat
. The band had reportedly gone their separate ways and were finished. Colohan described the robbery from within their own community as a "bullet in the head" for the band. For certain members, the band's hectic final show at Bitterzoet in Amsterdam would be the last they would ever see each other.
Member Activity Post-Cursed
M.Maxymuik subsequently joined the band Quest for Fire
and was a touring drummer for Pink Mountaintops
.
D.Dunham continued to play in Crux of Aux, and more recently in the bands Skull and Limitoids.
C.Colohan continues to tour and play in Burning Love
and Mature Situations, and run the vinyl-only High Anxiety label. Colohan, as stated in an interview, has written several unreleased books, Other Peoples' Girlfriends (2002) and Nine Lives (2011). He does photography and music related graphic design for his own and friends' bands on the side of his musical endeavors, and he works on the production end of live music in Toronto as one of several jobs.
R.Moumneh went on to open Hotel 2 Tango recording studio in Montreal's Mile End with partners from Godspeed You Black Emperor and Constellation Records.
He still works as a producer, engineer and co-owner of the studio, teaches production technique and is involved in various film and installation art projects, as well as his own ongoing performance art project Jerusalem In My Heart.
Posthumous Releases
Colohan released the band's final UK radio session (their last recording) as a 7" EP on High Anxiety. Deathwish Inc is currently in the process of reissuing Cursed I on LP. There has long been word of a comprehensive box set covering all 3 LPs, all 3 EPs plus the demo and unreleased songs, which was caught up in copywrite ownership issues and has remained a mystery since. Also, there may yet be a Cursed DVD mainly of the footage of the final tour (and the disintegration and last moments of the band), as well as various interviews and live videos from 2001-2008.
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
band featuring former and current members of numerous other Canadian DIY bands spanning from the early 1990s to the present, such as Haymaker, Left for Dead, The Swarm aka Knee Deep in the Dead, Acrid, Ruination, The Black Hand, Countdown to Oblivion, At the Mercy of Inspiration
At the Mercy of Inspiration
At the Mercy of Inspiration was a technical metal band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The band formed in 2000 and went on indefinite hiatus in 2005.They toured with Alexisonfire and The End....
, Shallow North Dakota
Shallow North Dakota
Shallow North Dakota is a three-piece noise rock/sludge metal band from Hamilton, Ontario. They have released several records on local label Sonic Unyon, and have toured with other notable Canadian acts such as Chore and Kittens...
, Crux of Aux, Quest for Fire
Quest for Fire (band)
Quest for Fire is a Canadian psychedelic rock band, consisting of Andrew Moszynski, Chad Ross, Mike Maxymuik and Josh Bauman. Moszynski and Ross were previously in the band The Deadly Snakes, while Maxymuik was formerly in the band Cursed and Bauman was previously in the band No No Zero.The band...
, Burning Love
Burning Love (band)
Burning Love is a hardcore punk band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada formed in 2007. The band consists Chris Colohan of the hardcore band Cursed and of the ex-members of Toronto-based sludge band Our Father...
and more.
History, Reputation and Trademarks
Formed in 2001 a year after the break-up of The Swarm aka Knee Deep in the Dead (three members' previous band), the founding lineup was originally split between different parts of Quebec and Ontario, Canada, but (following Moumneh's sudden move home to Lebanon), shifted to Toronto and Hamilton. Known for their trademark nihilistic and dystopian lyrical themes, stark classic horror imagery and loud, abrasive live shows, the band have toured worldwide and released records on Boston's Deathwish Inc, Ontario's Goodfellow Records, Syracuse's Hex Records and Providence's Trash Art Label. Cursed's debut I made immediate impact in their scene and garnered wide cult support. It was followed up with Cursed II, and the picture-disc EP Blackout At Sunrise in between, in the same year that also saw a release of a 180gr vinyl only gatefold reissue of 2003's "I" on the Providence RI label Trash Art.
In 2007 they finished up their third LP, "III: Architects of Troubled Sleep", which was released in 2008 through Goodfellow Records in North America, Howling Bull in Japan and in Europe through Dutch label Reflections. "III" was produced at Toronto's Hallamusic studio, mixed by long time friend and collaborator Donny Cooper, and mastered by Alan Douches at WestWestSide (NJ), with cover art by Baroness' John Dyer Baizley
John Dyer Baizley
John Baizley is a painter and musician based in Savannah, Georgia. He is notable for his album cover art and t-shirts for artists including Kylesa, Pig Destroyer, Darkest Hour, Daughters, Skeletonwitch, Torche, Cursed, Black Tusk, Kvelertak, Vitamin X, Flight of the Conchords, The Red Chord,...
. For its release, as opposed to the international touring they had come to spend a lot of time doing, the band played six weekends of strictly Southern Ontario DIY shows in as many houses, basements, record stores, bedrooms and Anarchist/DIY spaces as possible. The official Toronto release show was at a sold out Lee's Palace, with friends 50Watthead, Career Suicide
Career Suicide
Career Suicide is a hardcore punk band from Toronto, Canada. Effectively formed in 2001, the band's first live performance took place in January 2002, with first recorded output soon to follow. The band has gone on to record several full-length albums and singles on various international labels...
and Living Darkness.
Breakup
On May 22, 2008, singer Chris Colohan announced on the band's blog that the band had been robbed on the last morning of their European tour, losing their passports, all of their money and tour expenses in the night, from within a purportedly secure building in a German squat
Squat
The word squat, squatter or squatting can refer to:* Squatting, living in an abandoned or unused building, sometimes for political purposes...
. The band had reportedly gone their separate ways and were finished. Colohan described the robbery from within their own community as a "bullet in the head" for the band. For certain members, the band's hectic final show at Bitterzoet in Amsterdam would be the last they would ever see each other.
Member Activity Post-Cursed
M.Maxymuik subsequently joined the band Quest for Fire
Quest for Fire (band)
Quest for Fire is a Canadian psychedelic rock band, consisting of Andrew Moszynski, Chad Ross, Mike Maxymuik and Josh Bauman. Moszynski and Ross were previously in the band The Deadly Snakes, while Maxymuik was formerly in the band Cursed and Bauman was previously in the band No No Zero.The band...
and was a touring drummer for Pink Mountaintops
Pink Mountaintops
Pink Mountaintops is a shoegaze psychedelic rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia. The band consists of many of the same musicians who participate in the Black Mountain collective.-Band members:*Stephen McBean*Amber Webber*CC Rose*Lyndsay Sung...
.
D.Dunham continued to play in Crux of Aux, and more recently in the bands Skull and Limitoids.
C.Colohan continues to tour and play in Burning Love
Burning Love (band)
Burning Love is a hardcore punk band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada formed in 2007. The band consists Chris Colohan of the hardcore band Cursed and of the ex-members of Toronto-based sludge band Our Father...
and Mature Situations, and run the vinyl-only High Anxiety label. Colohan, as stated in an interview, has written several unreleased books, Other Peoples' Girlfriends (2002) and Nine Lives (2011). He does photography and music related graphic design for his own and friends' bands on the side of his musical endeavors, and he works on the production end of live music in Toronto as one of several jobs.
R.Moumneh went on to open Hotel 2 Tango recording studio in Montreal's Mile End with partners from Godspeed You Black Emperor and Constellation Records.
Constellation Records
Constellation Records is an influential Montreal, Quebec independent record label known for its contributions to experimental genres of music. It is most famous for releasing the albums of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, and Do Make Say...
He still works as a producer, engineer and co-owner of the studio, teaches production technique and is involved in various film and installation art projects, as well as his own ongoing performance art project Jerusalem In My Heart.
Posthumous Releases
Colohan released the band's final UK radio session (their last recording) as a 7" EP on High Anxiety. Deathwish Inc is currently in the process of reissuing Cursed I on LP. There has long been word of a comprehensive box set covering all 3 LPs, all 3 EPs plus the demo and unreleased songs, which was caught up in copywrite ownership issues and has remained a mystery since. Also, there may yet be a Cursed DVD mainly of the footage of the final tour (and the disintegration and last moments of the band), as well as various interviews and live videos from 2001-2008.
Members (Final)
- Chris Colohan TM : vocals
- Christian McMaster : lead guitar
- Dangerous Dan Dunham : bass
- Mike "The Mauler" Maxymuik : drums
Albums
- IOne (Cursed album)I is the debut album by Canadian hardcore punk band Cursed, released on February 25, 2003 via Deathwish, Inc.. It was recorded at Chemical Sound in Toronto ON from October 19 to October 23, 2002. It received moderate critical acclaim...
- 2003, Deathwish Inc.Deathwish Inc.Deathwish, Inc. is a independent record label founded by Jacob Bannon and Tre McCarthy. The label was originally used to release early albums by Bannon's own band Converge starting in late 1991. It wasn't until late 1999 that McCarthy and Bannon discussed turning Deathwish into a full-fledged label... - IITwo (Cursed album)-Band:*Chris Colohan - Vocals, Composer, Group Member, Layout Design*Christian McMaster - Guitar*T. Piriano - Bass*Radwan Moumneh - Guitar*Mike Maxymuik - Drums, Piano-Production:*João Carvalho - Mastering*Rudy Rempel - Audio Engineer, Engineer...
- 2005, Goodfellow Records - III: Architects of Troubled Sleep- 2008, Goodfellow Records
EPs\Demos
- Cursed Demo Recording- 2002, Self-Released,
- Hell Comes Home EP- 2004, Hex Records,
- Blackout At Sunrise EP- 2007, Goodfellow Records
- The Last Session EP- 2010, High Anxiety.