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WORM
Bluenothing EP

20 Buck Spin (2022)
Rating: 8/10

Florida’s Worm is one of those bands that have a constant buzz about its own rotten carcass. Since their 2017 debut full-length album Evocation Of The Black Marsh their name has coated the lips of death metal fanatics worldwide; us babbling, rabid worshippers can’t wait for a new release from this gang and now we have this new EP to drool over.

Bluenothing is the unorthodox entity we expected and yet without ever knowing how its contents would unfold. Decidedly more cosmic than previous efforts, this EP exhibits progression from this talented outfit who are still able to suffocate their fanbase under their cloak of eternal death / doom / black metal weirdness.

After a grandiose opening the title track unravels like some vast, interstellar but very much traditional metal exploration buzzed by stunning lead work and one hell of an icy chill that freezes the spine. The vocals of Phantom Slaughter drift in like deep and distant cavernous wisps acting as cloying sea frets which clamber up from the depths like toxic, galactic vapours eager to enshroud the toiling bells of the bass and the triggered drums.

Arguably one of the most unique entities to contend with, Worm is a tapestry within itself which unfolds to reveal a myriad of otherworldly layers; some bleak and desolate, others twinkling like distant yet very much alien landscapes as gushing synths merge with drawn out, cold chugs of ill-will. There’s so much to savour here that I can only suggest you revisit such plateaus time and time again in spite of the shadows of dread which leer at you from every corner being present throughout.

That title track runs for over 11 minutes but somehow provides a spatial and glacial soundtrack should David Attenborough wish to film life on other planets! Those swirling leads are probably the only accessible yet frayed landing strips to grab hold of as like tentacles they drag you into to this majestic web of nothing and everything, as with each step another ultraviolet crevice opens to reveal complex fissures.

‘Centuries Of Ooze II’ lumbers with Lovecraftian aplomb; imagine otherworldly pillars constructed of fungi, towering over bewildering crags and creeks bathed in kaleidoscopic sequencing as another gush of black, freezing death / doom lumbers across the horizon. To an extent, the music creates personal visual trips which become even more intriguing and entrancing than the music as eventually you succumb to the purple-tinged flickering clouds and become entangled in phosphorous mires of melting wax.

Brief instrumental ‘Invoking The Dragonmoon’ gives way to the chilly draughts of ‘Shadowside Kingdom’ which initially plays out like some FX drenched mid-to-late 80s sci-fi horror soundtrack. Again there’s that worming lead that squirms through the colossal cosmic barrier before the arctic smokes give way to a bewildering frazzle of further leads which nod towards an almost neo-classical 80s metal feel straight from the fires of Yngwie Malmsteen’s loins.

Bluenothing, like every other release from Worm, leaves us wanting more, but for now there’s enough elemental energy and dream-like nourishment to keep us going until the next transcendental trip.

Neil Arnold

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