Extreme metal alliance Arise From Worms deliver unexpectedly mind-bending thrills on debut full-length
The prospect of a collaboration between folk who’ve played in Incantation, Morbid Angel and Cryptopsy suggests a certain strain of brutality, but Arise From Worms are something else altogether. Guitarist Sonny Lombardozzi has constructed a maverick rebuild of extreme metal that incorporates confusing time signatures, conservatoire-level music theory and a discombobulating amount of jazz fusion. Of course, technicality and death metal have frequently gone hand in hand, but this lot are really pushing at the limits.
Along with a requisite amount of seismic riffage and blastbeat fury, Steve Tucker’s violent vocalizing anchors proceedings in the world of heavy music. But you’re never far from quicksilver fretboard displays utilising offbeat scales, abrupt turns into the musical leftfield, and keys from former Dream Theater fellow Derek Sherinian that vary from a grand piano having a breakdown to squelchy synth burblings that sound, frankly, cheeky.
Opener Forgotten Kings variously hints at the unsettling unpredictability of Calculating Infinity-era Dillinger Escape Plan, Mr Bungle’s tricksterish post-Zappa avant-rock and Morbid Angel having an identity crisis on a fairground ride. Power Obsessed is probably the record’s most easily digestible offering, though admittedly this is in the context of a body of work as baffling and near-nonsensical as the album title A Bleeding Tree Hanging Self Destruction.
So, a working knowledge of Lydian and Ionian scales might be advantageous in getting to grips with Arise From Worms. But repeat encounters with Psionic Being or Laolongtou prove rewarding even if you haven’t got a music degree. Once acclimatised, what initially appears bonkers, even impenetrable, turns out to be a dizzying delight.
Verdict: 4/5
For fans of: Imperial Triumphant, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Cynic
A Bleeding Tree Hanging Self Destruction is released on July 10 via Church Road
