Curse Mackey emerges from the shadows with ‘Imaginary Enemies’

A brooding new album that dives headfirst into grief, identity, and the monsters within.

Out now via Negative Gain Productions, ‘Imaginary Enemies’ is Curse Mackey’s most soul-baring, sonically immersive record to date—and it doesn’t just land with a thud, it reverberates. Equal parts ritual, elegy, and catharsis, the album finds Mackey carving a path through paranoia, mourning, and self-reckoning with a voice that aches, pleads, and commands all at once.

If you’ve followed Curse Mackey’s arc—from ‘Instant Exorcism’ (2019) to ‘Immoral Emporium’ (2022)—you’ll feel the gravity of this third installment. While ‘Exorcism’ wrestled with personal demons and ‘Emporium’ stared into societal rot, ‘Enemies’ is a darker, more intimate beast. It stalks the liminal space between who we are and what we fear, a world where the line between the real and the imagined is paper-thin and pulsing with dread.

The opening tracks like Doomed for Monday and Time Comes Clean set the tone with razor-sharp synths, punishing beats, and an unrelenting tension that grips and doesn’t let go. Mackey’s vocals don’t so much sing as they cast spells—equal parts sermon and scream. And then there’s Blood Like Love, the album’s beating, bloodied heart—a slow-burning lament that bleeds with loss and poetic fire.

The lead single Vertigo Ego spins like a late-night spiral into madness, built for headphones and haunted bedrooms. “What monsters come after you when you are alone in the dark?” Mackey asks—and you might not like the answer. It’s equal parts Wax Trax! throwback and cinematic dread, with flickers of Skinny Puppy, Twin Tribes, and early Gary Numan echoing in the shadows.

But this isn’t nostalgia—it’s transformation. Fueled by modular synths, spectral drones, and unsettling spoken-word samples, ‘Imaginary Enemies’ is built on the kind of late-night fever dreams that you can’t quite shake. There’s a pulse here that’s urgent and current—a post-pandemic energy that feels like it could combust at any moment.

The production is tight and tactile, thanks to Mackey and longtime collaborator Chase Dobson. Guest contributions from Jake Garcia (The Black Angels) and Rona Rougeheart (SINE) add extra depth to the sound—at times delicate, at times devastating.

Mackey’s Austin roots and industrial pedigree run deep—he’s collaborated with Pigface, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, and David J of Bauhaus—and that legacy crackles through this record. But ‘Imaginary Enemies’ isn’t leaning on past glories. It’s pressing forward, deeper into the psychic terrain that Mackey owns like few others.

This is music for those 3AM moments when the world quiets and your internal static turns deafening. It’s goth. It’s industrial. It’s darkwave. But more than that, ‘Imaginary Enemies’ is a bold, vulnerable, exquisitely crafted call to arms for the haunted and the heartbroken.

Whether you’re chasing shadows or dancing with your ghosts, this one’s for you.

‘Imaginary Enemies’ is available now for pre-order on CD, vinyl, and digital.
Grab it on Bandcamp

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