VesselsOfBlood : 16/20 | Spanish death metal quintet Wormed is a group that specializes in balancing technicality with sheer brutality. Established in 1998 from Madrid, they released a number of short albums, as well as a full-length record "Planisphaerium" in 2003. They later signed to Willowtip Records, which also took in bands such as Defeated Sanity and Neuraxis. What follows would be the release of the band's second full-length album called "Exodromos."
The musicianship demonstrated in this album is very good. Starting off, the guitar work is the best aspect of this instrumentation. Without noodling, they deliver technical riffs, brutal chugs, rapid-fire licks, and perhaps anything else to make for a diverse performance. These aspects are all tied together with the vehement and spacey sound they generally deliver. On top of that, the vocals, consisting of deep gutturals, add to the band's cosmic yet brutal sound. They could have used more variety, such as the high-pitches in the opening track "Nucleon," for more variety, but they are well performed nonetheless. The drums are also great, being incredibly fast-paced and complex, but solid enough to keep the formula tight and focused. All things considered, the musicianship definitely succeeds in this album.
Along with the instrumentation, the sound production is also quite stellar. The one behind it would be Carlos Santos, who had also recorded and mixed albums for other acts such as Human Mincer and Hybrid. The job is well done here, keeping the instruments clear and powerful while holding a surprisingly good amount of thick atmosphere. The mixing is yet another strong point for this album.
As stated earlier, Wormed has a formula of fusing brutal and technical death metal for an unrelenting listen. Overall, this plan is very well-crafted. It seems like it would have been so easy for the tracks to sound monotonous and repetitive, for its highly devastating fabric. However, this thankfully isn't the case, because the music is smartly written. The album as a whole has a few quieter moments to make the heavier parts sound even more explosive. To top it off, there is a good abundance of gripping parts that manage to tie together into solidly-built structures. Though not always an attention-grabbing death-ride, it cannot be denied that the band has really got around in terms of focusing on both deadliness and coherency. The music is beyond decent.
"Exodromos" is overall a very well put-together and potent death metal release. The musicianship is performed greatly, the production is also done nicely, and the songs themselves are powerfully constructed and executed. With how well the album turned out, it is recommended for fans of technical and brutal death metal. Along with that, Wormed proves to be a band that isn't to be taken very lightly.
Originally posted on: http://metaljerky.blogspot.com/
2013-08-01 03:18:26
|
|
