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REVIEWS
To Dawn the Visage of the Serpent
Traversing the Saurian Abyss
Passing through the Deep
Ajna (Viewing the Bodiless Realm)
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Untitled (Trapped in Bardo)
And I've Become the Demon (Vicious Alliance Remix)
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Worms of the Earth
The Lesser Ophidian Gate
Bugs Crawling Out of People
Posted: Sunday, July 18, 2010
By: Ilker Yücel
Editor
By: Ilker Yücel
Editor
The sophomore EP from Worms of the Earth continues down the decrepit path of blending dark atmosphere with intelligent production, making for a brutal listening experience.
It's gratifying in the digital age to see an artist rise through the mire of any genre he or she may be associated with and focus on improvement of style and technique. Such has been the case with Dan Barrett and his Worms of the Earth project; with a plethora of web-only releases showcasing an abrasive style of harsh industrial and power noise, it wasn't until his official debut in 2008, The Angels of Prostitution, that Barrett's musical path was set, marking an improved production and compositional ability that stood out as a work of unbridled intensity and aggression. With his sophomore release, The Lesser Ophidian Gate, Worms of the Earth continues to explore the darker, more mysterious and dismal recesses of the musical psyche.
Equal parts industrial, power noise, and dark ambient, The Lesser Ophidian Gate takes the formulas set forth by the previous album and pushes them into a much more uniform direction. Beginning with the sonic abyss of "To Dawn the Visage of the Serpent," the listener is plunged into a decayed miasma of dungeon-like samples, the sounds of labored breathing, shards of metal, and insects scurrying through the muck giving way to a throbbing industrial beat that is as danceable as it is grating to the ears, dimming ever so often to let slithering synth melody take over. The beats and the synth leads are not dissimilar to what many refer to as terror EBM, but the subtle complexity of the arrangements - offset by carefully constructed glitches - makes for a decidedly intense and intelligent sonic assault. The next two tracks, "Traversing the Saurian Abyss" and "Passing through the Deep" follow suit with a similar dark ambient buildup giving way to a noisome thorax of cacophonous industrial mayhem, with the despairing ambience of vigintillion-years-old submarine creatures lurking in the sonic spaces. However, once "Ajna (Viewing the Bodiless Realm)" comes in with its vapors of subterranean atmosphere, the restrained tempo and bleak melodic passages kick in for an equally apocalyptic, but much more accessible brand of despair. The same can be said for "Untitled (Trapped in Bardo)," with the resonating pianos amid squalid bedrock of fearful samples and dirge-like percussion creating an air of cruel abandonment into the darkness of worlds' ends.
At 44 minutes long, The Lesser Ophidian Gate runs a bit long for the average EP, with Vicious Alliance offering a bit of dance floor terror EBM with their remix of "And I've Become the Demon" to close things out on an upbeat but no less decrepit note. As on The Angels of Prostitution, the production is excellent with every note shimmering clear, the noisier elements never overtaking the mix, and all set to a singularly vicious and bleak musical theme that on its own is better than most horror films. It is this quality that makes Worms of the Earth certainly not for all tastes, but there are few experimental artists that are able to juxtapose dark atmosphere and aggressive noise with intelligent production and well thought out composition as exemplified on The Lesser Ophidian Gate.
Equal parts industrial, power noise, and dark ambient, The Lesser Ophidian Gate takes the formulas set forth by the previous album and pushes them into a much more uniform direction. Beginning with the sonic abyss of "To Dawn the Visage of the Serpent," the listener is plunged into a decayed miasma of dungeon-like samples, the sounds of labored breathing, shards of metal, and insects scurrying through the muck giving way to a throbbing industrial beat that is as danceable as it is grating to the ears, dimming ever so often to let slithering synth melody take over. The beats and the synth leads are not dissimilar to what many refer to as terror EBM, but the subtle complexity of the arrangements - offset by carefully constructed glitches - makes for a decidedly intense and intelligent sonic assault. The next two tracks, "Traversing the Saurian Abyss" and "Passing through the Deep" follow suit with a similar dark ambient buildup giving way to a noisome thorax of cacophonous industrial mayhem, with the despairing ambience of vigintillion-years-old submarine creatures lurking in the sonic spaces. However, once "Ajna (Viewing the Bodiless Realm)" comes in with its vapors of subterranean atmosphere, the restrained tempo and bleak melodic passages kick in for an equally apocalyptic, but much more accessible brand of despair. The same can be said for "Untitled (Trapped in Bardo)," with the resonating pianos amid squalid bedrock of fearful samples and dirge-like percussion creating an air of cruel abandonment into the darkness of worlds' ends.
At 44 minutes long, The Lesser Ophidian Gate runs a bit long for the average EP, with Vicious Alliance offering a bit of dance floor terror EBM with their remix of "And I've Become the Demon" to close things out on an upbeat but no less decrepit note. As on The Angels of Prostitution, the production is excellent with every note shimmering clear, the noisier elements never overtaking the mix, and all set to a singularly vicious and bleak musical theme that on its own is better than most horror films. It is this quality that makes Worms of the Earth certainly not for all tastes, but there are few experimental artists that are able to juxtapose dark atmosphere and aggressive noise with intelligent production and well thought out composition as exemplified on The Lesser Ophidian Gate.
