RSS Feed


CRYPTWORM
Spewing Mephitic Putridity

Me Saco Un Ojo / Pulverised (2022)
Rating: 8/10

The word “putrid” is probably the most used when it comes to death metal songs and album names, but in this case it’s rather apt in describing the new Cryptworm opus.

Without doubt one of the best bands within the genre at the moment, Bristol, England-based Cryptworm has had us reaching for the disinfectant since their 2017 self-titled demo. And now five years later, these bulbous leeches have poked out their debut full-length album with enough garish gore on cover art alone to suffocate us in swampy sick.

The groove grind opener ‘Disgorged Chunks Of Life’ has been loitering at the back of my brain like a tumour for a while now, so it’s nice to finally wash it down with another unhygienic smorgasbord of bile in the form of such hits as ‘Immense Cerebral Decomposition’, ‘Reduced To Liquified Mass’, ‘Septic Phlegm Asphyxia’ and that old classic chestnut ‘Amorphous Transmutations’.

It’s all here; sprawling blueberry masses of congealed chaos drenched in boggy, dismal patterns of perversity, whether from that opening punky groove of ‘Disgorged Chunks Of Life’ to the final embolism of the title cut.

Cryptworm is a permanent death metal infection that drapes soggy limbs around you and pulls you into your own filthy orifice. Injections of pace are mashed nicely with the pulp of doomier strains.

The dripping ulcerated gore of ‘Immense Cerebral Decomposition’ brings a thick, algae-ridden pace with vocal slurs aplenty, while ‘Disembowelment (Draped In Gore)’ showcases again the band’s talent for structuring a melodious morbidity.

Okay, so it’s not as atmospherically consuming as, say, Worm or as ultimately boggy as Cerebral Rot, but Cryptworm’s process of slow decay remains as pulverising and unpleasant, particularly with the slower segments. For example, the slow, churning drizzle of ‘Premature Entombment’ just festers with doom, and the opening chugs of ‘Amorphous Transmutations’ just rule the roost.

It’s quite simplified death metal, but so sodden with sludge and sick that you can’t help but drown in its cess-pit existence. And despite hailing from the UK, there are times when the Finnish influences shine through to splatter each structure, and that’s not a bad thing.

But Cryptworm still has its own sound that requires health and safety restrictions throughout. So, don that protective mask and suit and step into the realms of the putrid.

Neil Arnold

<< Back to Album & EP Reviews



Related Posts via Categories
Share