The Album

The Cruciatus Curse is an American Wizard Rock band formed in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 2004. The band released a compilation of their Greatest Hits on June 10, 2011. With twelve amazing tracks, let’s get right into it!

The Tracks

A heavy rock feel, complete with drum set and bass, starts out this collection. The Dark Mark has a laid-back vibe in the instrumentals while the deep vocals emulate a hardcore evil wizard. This piece brings to mind black robes, mist swirling around tombstones, and wands sheathed in black leather.

Party Like Your Evil is next, and it’s a remix! With some metal screaming vocals mixed in, this hype song will make you pumped to be a Slytherin, a Death Eater, a fan of this band, or all of the above.

Church bells ring in Hedwig’s theme on the electric guitar in I Need A Dark Lord. Then, after this incredible interlude, we hear a distorted vocal sing about how they need a Dark Lord. A quick transition later, and a Death Eater raps about what’s missing. All of these elements combine into a dark and badass song.

The next track is a parody of Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” – I Kissed A Squib. This parody is hilarious and well done. The vocal effects that are added really contributes to my idea of what the word “squib” sounds like.

Horcrux feat. Voldemort begins with a creepy haunted vocal – something that you would hear in a horror movie. Add a sick beat, and the rapping begins. I would love to see a music video made of this song, somewhere in a dark misty graveyard.

We slow down for The Death Eaters Lament. The rhythm and the whispering in the background sets a great foundation for this Death Eater’s song. We get a closer look into a Death Eater’s life and what they struggle with, and I really enjoyed it.

Take Me Back feat. House of Black ramps up into the first verse with synthetic strings and a strong, hard voice. The combination of The Cruciatus Curse and House of Black is truly inspiring. The vocals, lyrics, and instrumentals mesh together so well and create a wonderful song.

It’s story time! Get ready for the Tale of the Deathly Hallows. A beautiful and forlorn flute begins the song, and then it takes a dark tone before the vocals come in to tell the story. The title tells you all you need to know about the content of the song, but I really enjoyed the melodies, harmonies, and backing tracks as well as the performance of the lyrics.

Next up is another collaboration: Can You Believe feat. Witherwings. It starts with a gorgeous melodic riff and escalates slowly into a sea shanty type of feel. The vocals are longing, soft, and haunting. It’s a beautiful collab and one of my favorites on this album.

Power of Love feat. The Cursebreakers has us rocking out to yet another collab. It’s a laid back but still badass track, with hardcore lyrics and a strong vocal performance.

Here’s a cover of Sexy Back by Justin Timberlake – (I’m Bringing) Evil Back. The Cruciatus Curse puts their own spin on this popular song and turns it into a Death Eater anthem.

The final song on the album is End Of It All. Slow and heart wrenching, it stays true to the band’s nature and kicks back with a sick beat underneath the soft and steady melody of what reminds me of a ticking clock. The zen goes all the way to the end of the song.

In Summary

Between the parodies, the collaborations, and the original songs, The Cruciatus Curse sure didn’t disappoint with their collection of greatest hits. I loved the variation of themes, mostly told from a darker side, as well as the different instruments and melodies used in each one. This album made me want to go put on black… lots of black.