Artist: Worm Altar
Country: USA
Label: Gurgling Gore
Formats: Cassette EP
Year: 2023
Last year, one-man formation Worm Altar already delivered a very attractive piece of Doom/Death Metal with a self-titled demo. Although that particular genre has been troubled by mediocrity for several years with either just Death Metal being played at a slow pace or hiding behind a poundage of blubbery riffs. This apparently unstoppable quest for the heaviest possible sound that seems to go hand in hand with a total lack of creativity has certainly done the genre no favours. It can therefore be called a relief when a band like Worm Altar crosses that path…
With ‘Astral Scourge’ we have the successor in our hands of which it is very clear right away that it is totally in line with its predecessor. Although the crushing guitar sound on ‘Astral Scourge’ stands in an even slightly sharper contrast to the rather pale overall sound of this latest EP, it still remains a clear landmark of Worm Altar. The ultra-heavy riffs that keep ploughing through the vast black void still form the base over which the equally sluggishly pummelling bass and pounding drums claim their place. However, the icy and sinister guitar “melodies” are what set Worm Altar apart from most other bands in the genre, the almost hallucinatory, astral atmosphere that, as the EP progresses, takes away more and more of your oxygen, mean that a comparison is not necessarily easy to make right away.
In the review for the debut demo, I described the music as a mix between old Paradise Lost, Disma, Incantation, Anatomia and Funebrarum. For the most part, that is still a fitting starting point, however, once again Scott propels his one-man-vehicle to deeper depths and higher heights. The resulting dynamics not only provide much-needed variety, just listen to the tasty tempo acceleration towards the end of ‘Unsightly Shapeless And Disgusting’, but also indicate that Worm Altar is more than just a simple slow Death Metal band. With that eerie atmosphere, the band also creeps ever closer to the Funeral Doom genre. Certainly the beautifully crafted closing track, ‘Refossilized’, is a through-and-through piece of dooom metal.
If, besides the aforementioned bands, you are also not averse to a band like Tyranny or diSEMBOWELMENT, it is certainly not a wild idea to give ‘Astral Scourge’ a listen. Although Gurgling Gore is mainly a label of hit-and-miss anyway, this one is clearly a shot in the arm.
