BELLOWS FALLS — After six years, the on-again/off-again hard rock and metal band Curst is definitely on again.
The band recently completed and released its debut CD, Vermont Democracy, which has actually been in the works since 2006.
In fact, all the delays and various ebbs and flows of this band and this recording have not only changed the music over time, but also became an inside joke of sorts for the band.
It spawned the CD's tongue-in-cheek reference to the many-years-long recording project of the famed, but flamed-out Chinese Democracy from Guns 'N' Roses.
“The Vermont Democracy concept was just a little inside joke we came up with because of our own, ever-shifting lineup and the ongoing recording and redeveloping of songs so we could finally complete the recording,” said Curst's front man, bassist and Bellows Falls resident Josh Mosher.
Curst has been banging around the southern Vermont and New Hampshire music scene since 2004, with not only various lineup changes along the way, but also complete band changes, other projects, and break-ups littered throughout the past six years. But they have always found a way to stay connected.
Jamming on the porch
The band was formed by Mosher and guitarist Brent Nicholas (also from Bellows Falls), who were former members of another local band called Kaos.
The two started writing songs together on Nicholas's front porch. They worked well together, with Nicholas coming up with cool riffs that would inspire Mosher's lyrics.
The band took shape after Walpole, N.H., drummer Rob Bridge and two other former Kaos members, guitarist Ron Fletcher and bassist Jon Fletcher, also jumped on board.
It also just so happened that Bridge owns Helmet Studio in Walpole, which aided Curst in releasing two EPs, an acoustic project called Lasting Stain and the electric EP The Creature.
A third EP a year later, Who's Laughing Now?, also featured Dennis Lowe on guitar. All three releases were recorded at Helmet Studio with Bridge as producer.
As various local musicians came and went over the next few years and this ongoing Curst project morphed into Vermont Democracy about a year and a half ago, the musicians eventually drifted back together. After essentially a two-year hiatus, Mosher, Nicholas and Bridge officially decided to pull the band back together.
“But the band never really stopped jamming,” Mosher says. “We did so as a three-piece with myself, Brent on guitar and Rob on drums for a while, then Dennis came back in the summer 2009.”
“Scott White is the newest member on bass and is proving to be a welcome addition,” he says. “It sounded great, so we started rehearsing again."
Who's laughing now
The new CD is mainly a compilation of six recording sessions from 2006 through 2007 and six other sessions from 2009 through 2010.
But “the songs really span a six-year period,” Mosher said. “Some were released in EP form and some haven't yet seen the light of day. Really, the songs have been works in progress all along, some going as far back as 2004.”
The 12 tracks are powerful slabs of heavy rock, with influences of Black Sabbath and other traditional metal sounds seeping through such tracks as “Who's Laughing Now” and “Double-Edged Sword.”
To coincide with the release of the new CD, and perhaps in a stroke of good fortune for Curst, a friend of the band recently got an opportunity to play some Curst demos for the manager of a prominent radio station in New York.
Thanks to her, the group will meet that manager, said Mosher.
“It could be a big opportunity if all goes well - the exposure could be great!” Mosher said. “We're all being 'real' about the whole thing, but hey, you gotta have dreams too, right?”
So what makes this version of Curst unique?
“I really like the atmosphere this time around. This is our fifth version of the band, and I think its the best lineup we've assembled yet,” Mosher said.
“We're just five guys that like the songs we play, and we try not to bring any issues or drama to the table,” he added.
“No one tries to outdo anyone else, and we are a cohesive unit,” Mosher said. “This band is concentrating on doing the best show we can and just getting our music out there to be heard.”