This is eerie, progressive Black Metal. Imagine a more aggressive Blut Aus Nord in some ways; Blut Aus Nord crossed with Mayhem perhaps. A good starting point. In fact I’d like to coin the phrase Ambient Aggressive to describe them. They have plenty of ethereal, ambient-esque feelings and melodies in them, whilst having an underlying aggressive core. First song Sex Augu, Tolf Stjornur is a classic example of this – blasting drums, frenetic bass, with insanity-inducing almost-ambient guitar work/noise on top.
The album cover initially can make you wonder what kind of music is contained within, but when you’re listening it makes sense – spooky, trippy, insane, out-of-the-ordinary. This is a brand of Black Metal that is much more unique and interesting than most. They also do mellow very well. There is not an abundance of it; but in between bouts of discordance and mayhem there are quieter moments, (A Altari Meistarans in particular), and the atmosphere here is suitably unhinged as you may expect, only without the chaos.
The melodies used throughout this album are all high-quality and are designed to slowly send the listener insane, or at the very least to wrench up the tension levels. It’s this combination of brilliance and craziness that, for me, marks this as an exceptional release. That and the fact that the band make it sound so effortless. An album such as this could easily sound like a patchwork of conflicting styles in lesser hands. In the hands of artisans however, we have a soundscape birthed from insanity and directed by demented geniuses who know how to control the chaos for their own ends.
Wormlust are like the wind; capable of going from a gentle breeze to howling terror in the space of a second. As such they are liable to scare the casual listener away. Those who persevere however will be richly rewarded.
Wonderbox Metal 