Wormed – Krighsu (Season of Mist)
Thursday, 24th March 2016
The otherworldly death metal masters Wormed make a relatively quick return (considering the 10 year wait it took for Exodromos) with their third full-length Krighsu. Everything that you would expect from the unique approach of the band is largely intact from last album, with some slight injections of new ideas to keep things interesting.
Wormed strongest card in the deck is their ability to keep things technical without being showy about it, and integrating it into a massively heavy death metal package. The sheer wall of sound that you hear with the opening track “Pseudo-Horizon” is enough to shake your building’s foundation, and when things drop into slam-death territory, look out. But those sneaky riffs that they toss into this formula for maximum brutality are what keep the whole thing afloat. The interesting time changes and moving from riff to riff make sure that you don’t stay in one place long enough to get bored. Those mid-tempo riffs then become absolute juggernauts (see “Zeroth-Energy Graviton”) sure to give you whiplash. There seems to be some more atmosphere this time around, with tracks like “Eukaryotic Hex Swarm,” “The Singularitarism,” and the near-melodic (by Wormed standards) closer “Molecular Winds” nicely showcasing what the band can do with atmosphere behind its brutality. “57889330816.1” goes all in with this approach, oozing a dark and alien quality to it.
While Krighsu does retain much of Exodromos before it, none can doubt Wormed’s unique place among the death metal landscape. Unique vocals and deep, conceptual lyrics cement the band’s approach, and their mixture of technically-pleasing yet devastatingly brutal music is in top-form. Though it does feel as if the band is on to something really special with the atmosphere, particularly with “Molecular Winds,” that could really bloom with their next album. For now, Krighsu is fit to stimulate your mind while giving you a practically unmatched level of adrenaline.
