Track By Tracks: Cursed Bloodlines - Virulent (2025)

1. A Nightmare Grotesque:

Malcolm: This was the first song written after "Extinction' was released. Compositionally, we wanted to go for a heavier sound, so this song was made to show off where "Cursed Bloodlines" would go. Lyrically, this song is about all of us being born into a corrupt system that has the majority of people at a pre-disposition. Not only does the system make everything an uphill battle, but one that also profits off of our struggles and failures. It is a way of getting out the frustrations of dedicating one's to the profit of others, by saying there is a way to come together and tear down these systems to take our lives back.

2. Strange Matter:

Malcolm: "Strange Matter" is an older written song that I didn't put final vocals onto until very late in "Virulent's" production timeline. It had many iterations lyrically before I decided to write about a theoretical state of matter that can exist called "Strange Matter". It is a state of matter that will turn every atom that it comes in contact with into itself, and it collides with Earth. I like to write about theoretical physics, and relate it to a cosmic horror vibe to make a point out how infinitely small we are in the vastness of the universe.

3. Suffer in Silence:

Malcolm: "Suffer in Silence" is a reflection of my state of mind shortly after my little brother "Kenneth Rebai" passed away and is a dedication to him. It's about anybody who has had to suffer in their mind, and felt there was no way to reach out. It describes the part of yourself that is your own worst enemy, and attempts to put in context that everyone has that negative side of themselves, but it is important to recognize that the "negative voice" that you have is not who you are.

4. Bodies in the Cellar:

Tim: The lyrics in this are pretty straight forward but with an underlying message. It's a story about a man who hates himself for being what and who he is. Over the course of the song, he learns to see himself and comes to love and embrace who he is. The twist on it being the fact that he is a serial killer. The underlying message is about self-acceptance and being your true self.

5. Virulent:

(Malcolm)Being the name of the album, this song was written to encapsulate the sound of "Cursed Bloodlines". It is about a sentient black hole that infects the fabric of spacetime, creating a new universe in which all self-aware life from the previous universe has become a law of physics in the new one. I still have video of me locking myself in my studio for hours on end until I had it written. It is the first song in my eyes, where we "found our sound," so to speak.

6. Partitioned Perfection:

Malcolm: "Partitioned Perfection", is heavily influenced by Black Metal with its dissonant chords and screeching vocals, but as serious as it sounds, the lyrics were written to be morbidly comedic. It's a song about a person who has collected body parts to make the "perfect corpse bride". Once he has completed it, he decides to take it out on a date only to have the corpse bride cheat on him, so he makes a new one. It is really poking fun at the trope of mysogonistic gore metal, by being completely ludicrous with the "over the top" imagery that it invokes.

7. Blood, Bath and Beyond:

Malcolm: "Blood, Bath and Beyond' is a song that is in the same vein as "A Nightmare Grotesque" in the sense that it is a bit more political. It is talking about the brainwashing that consumerism promotes to feed the system, and how we are all essentially slaves to that system. It talks about how we have to bust our ass to make sure profits for companies have to rise exponentially to appease shareholders while everyone else has to bite the bullet and fit in that system just to survive. It is an anthem to change this system by any means necessary, and make a brighter future for everyone.

8. Mephitic Rebirth:

Tim: The lyrics for this song were originally a poem I wrote entitled "Make Me Shiver" and later adapted for use in the song. It's intended to be a view from the darkest corners of society, the part we tend not to look at; a peek behind the facade. It was also driven by my interest in the macabre.

9. Eight Hours to Live:

Malcolm: "Eight Hourse to Live" is another somewhat comedic song where humanity realized that we only have eight hours to live, and in the hysteria of learning that fact, we become extinct in just four hours. When I first heard the opening riff, it sounded like an alarm going off, so I figured to go big and make that alarm apply to the world. I figured it would be a good calamity song, but I also wanted to point out how I think humanity as a whole would react to their impending doom.

10. A Cold Cosmic Embrace:

Tim: I was really inspired and driven by the music for this song and, at the time, was thinking about the universe; specifically, how it ends. I was thinking about what the universe might say to life as it's dying. This is the universe's deathbed farewell. It attempts to console life by saying there is nothing to fear about everything ending, while for life, it's perceived as being cold and callous. It's a more bereft view of "cosmic horror".

11. The Rats in the Walls:

Tim: The music for this one got under my skin and stayed there, so I wanted to take the reins and see what I could come up with. Since the overarching theme of the album, and the band thus far, was cosmic horror, I figured why not pay tribute to the godfather of cosmic horror, HP Lovecraft. So it became an homage to his short story, and my personal favorite, of the same title. My intention was to make it enjoyable for readers and those who haven't read it, so instead of trying to retell the story, I chose to capture the mood of the story as I interpret it.