Wormlust – The Wormlust Collective (demo)
An appropriately arctic post-Metal guitar line with a slowly thudding bass drum keeping time opens this well-executed atmospheric Black Metal demo from Iceland. When the energy of ‘Svarthol’ rears its head, layered, swaying guitars ping back and forth across the audioscape, as their chorded strings are bent all in unison. A single sliding, undistorted/reverb-drenched guitar lays atop the churning atonal riffery and the cacophony of blasting beats, while hoarse, half-hidden vocals have you imagining what Wrest trapped in a deep freeze might sound like. Knowledgeable use of dark ambient and noise/drone elements give The Wormlust Collective ‘s classic tropes of Black Metal their own hue, to the extent that you find yourself curiously guessing what will come next. Bullet points belonging to Blut Aus Nord’s majestic The Work That Transforms God are espoused here, followed by eerie post-rock and infrequent Doom Metal (on ‘Seven Paths’) that allow for ear-breathing. Final track “Opium Sleep” closes the album in a quarter-hour dark ambient timewarp, and does so nicely with a late-Vinterriket lilt, but I find myself wishing for more of the avante-garde psychosis of the first two songs.
There’s a sharpness to this ‘demo’ (using quotes because it does not sound like one) and a seriousness in its presentation I have found in other bands from Iceland. Maybe something about the dichotomy between fire and ice that its citizens live amongst everyday inspires meticulousness … (er, please hold while this reviewer pulls head out of ass ;). Whatever the case, someone pick these guys up. Wormlust’s Black Metal voice exudes cold promise. -Jim
Worm Gear 