Italian Horror has supplied Metal with easily as much inspiration as H.P. Lovecraft. For Finland’s HOODED MENACE, the “Tombs of the Blind Dead” saga provided all the thematic groundwork they needed to craft their unholy Doom masterpiece, “Fulfill The Curse” released just this year on Razorback Records, the same label that released the debut ACID WITCH album. If HOODED MENACE strike you as borrowing heavily from earlier Finnish Doom acts like PHLEGETHON and THERGOTHON, your ears are well schooled indeed, for Leper Messiah, the guitarist and vocalist, was in PHLEGETHON. Its only natural that some of that carried over. Adding to the grim mystique of the record are the audio clips of the zombie Templars moaning in the darkness. At times, melodies more suited to an early KATATONIA record bring the album dangerously close to losing its grotesque atmosphere, but the heavy grit of the guitars, and the vocals of course, help keep everything in check. Above all, this album is fun, and a Hell of a lot of it, too. www.myspace.com/hoodedmenace, www.razorbackrecords.com