Wormed
Exodromos

April 2013
Released: 2013, Willowtip Records
Rating: 2.5/5
Reviewer: Peter Atkinson

Despite boasting a typically sick sounding death metal moniker, Spain's Wormed deal more with outer space than internal organs on their second full-length – and first in a decade. Indeed, Exodromos, so the band explain on their website, is a prequel to said debut, 2003's Planisphaerium, and details “futuristic science concepts and chaotic visions of the last human left in cosmos, Krighsu.” It then mentions something about a “quantum wormhole in a inverted multi-vectorial reionization,” and “Krighsu traveling through xenoverses to found a new world with the human seed.” M'kay.



Anyway, “Genital Grinder” this apparently is not - even though it sure seems as if it could be. For all of Wormed's unearthly, L. Ron Hubbard-like plot lines, their delivery method is as vomitous and grisly as vintage Carcass or Chris Barnes-era Cannibal Corpse.



Frontman Phlegeton's nombre de guerra – forgive my crappy Spanish - appears to be spot on, since he horks up his vocals in a raspy, phlegmy spew. Whatever yarn Wormed is trying to spin here is rendered largely unintelligible – even the largely spoken “Solar Neutrinos” - by this sort of projectile vocalizing.



Which is too bad, because the band's tech-death is quite compelling. Sure Exodromos is brutal as hell, but it's complex, well-executed and punishingly efficient, with this 10-track concept album clocking in at a tidy 33-some minutes. Vicious hooks abound here, and odd, Voivod-like guitar forays weave nicely around drummer Riky's blast-beat fury, notably on the closer “Xenoverse Discharger,” giving Exodromos back some of the depth that is lost to Phlegeton's belch-contest vocals.