Florida swamp doom band Worm cast off into the unknown with Bluenothing.
One year after the massive and tectonically heavy Foreverglade, Worm is back with a mightily impressive EP, Bluenothing. Off now in a different direction, Phantom Slaughter (vocals, guitar, bass, and synth) and Wroth Septentrion (guitar) are joined by session musicians to complete the presentation: Nihilistic Manifesto (guitar, “Shadowside Kingdom”), Necreon (bass, “Shadowside Kingdom”), L. Dusk (drums, “Bluenothing” and “Centuries Of Ooze II”), and Charlie Koryn (drums, “Shadowside Kingdom”).
The first song is the title track, “Bluenothing,” and it starts out appropriately sorrowfully. This is the kind of music you could play after a wake. In addition to the expected granite cliffs of rhythm guitar and the proportionately dreary vocals, the elegant lead guitar provides beautiful interludes through the saturating darkness. The song is incredible, and if you hear only it from the record you have benefitted to an almost gratuitous level. I don’t want to over-hype it, but this is one of the best tracks I have heard this year.
“Centuries of Ooze II” leads with an organ as the advance troupe heralding ocean-deep guitars. A taste of eastern mysticism tinges the composition as the glacial flood of incalculable loss overtakes you in the listening. “Invoking the Dragonmoon” is a short transition piece leading to “Shadowside Kingdom.” The final track is a curiosity that could be the soundtrack to a scene in a dark fantasy movie where a magician is conjuring something you can tell will be bad for everyone involved. The chanting backs up the sentiment, and the wan guitar guarantees a dark future that arrives promptly with black metal vileness. These four songs are layered artifacts, shimmering themselves and portending an inevitable continuation. Recommended.
Bluenothing is out on Friday, October 28th through 20 Buck Spin. Have a look through the links below.
Links.
Bandcamp, https://listen.20buckspin.com/album/bluenothing
Worm Bandcamp, https://wormgloom.bandcamp.com/merch
FFMB review of Foreverglade, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2021/10/20/worm-foreverglade-20-buck-spin-2021/
20 Buck Spin Records, https://www.20buckspin.com/
© Wayne Edwards
Flying Fiddlesticks Music Blog 