News : Worm - Necropalace out now via Century Media.
- Philippe Tougas
- Feb 13
- 3 min read
Via the label : ''Over the past decade, Florida’s Worm has incessantly built upon their sonic palette of ‘Necromantic Black Doom’, with roots in nearly every worthy corner of extreme metal’s history - from the grandiose heights of ‘90s symphonic black metal to the emotional technicality of ‘80s shred metal. Now, four years since their last album “Foreverglade” (2021), the band has only grown more powerful, showcasing a level of songwriting that is beyond modern compare. For the band's first offering on Century Media Records, Worm has managed to do what many others in this day and age can only attempt: They walk backwards into the future. In June of the year 2024, shadowborn masters Phantom Slaughter (vocalist) and Wroth Septentrion (guitarist) entered Elektric City Recording in Portland, Oregon to record the seven song offering, “Necropalace” with Charlie Koryn. At its completion, the album was mixed and mastered to perfection by Arthur Rizk. Countless nights passed where the duo ensured their most monumental and decadent aura - once reserved only for the immortal - was captured and displayed in a way never seen before from this horde. Years in the making, “Necropalace” lives in a world all of its own. What transpired from this summoning of primeval viscera was a world of grotesque velvet and ostentatious gold, covered in the dust of time and ephemera. A world where shadows seem to move in your peripheral vision, yet the loneliness never ceases. A world where wounds of the flesh may heal, but those of the heart never do. The nightmarish omnipotence of the album opener, “Necropalace,” ushers the listener into a journey through obsessive bloodlust by way of the spellbinding and powerful vocals of Phantom Slaughter while Wroth Septentrion flaunts his stunningly masterful songwriting throughout. Through the opulent finality of album closer “Witchmoon: The Infernal Masquerade” - featuring guitar virtuoso Marty Friedman - the album is truly the sonic representation of unbridled nightbound maleficence! Enter if you dare, but know now the consequences of your choice. “Necropalace” manifests itself as the soundscape to a star laden winter night sky reflecting off the Everglades’ darkest slough; where death meets the deathless. This album is a vociferous call to action for anyone who still possesses ancient vampiric blood in their veins. Prepare yourself for a full force attack of zealous guitar agility and heretic spellcraft. The gates are now open. Rise now, for the night is nigh.
Line-Up: Phantom Slaughter – Vocals, Keyboards
Wroth Septentrion - Guitars, Keyboards, Timpani, Engineering
Necreon - Bass CK – Drums
Discography: Foreverglade (2021) Gloomlord (2019) Evocation of the Black Marsh (2017)
WORM online:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5KGJFenkLeQ77WEgK FPnTZ?si=UG9CDgfdSrKKxrCqH9ApWA
Personal statement : As usual, I like to write a bit about the process. The writing went smoothly, though we had to write some songs on the road (incl. a song I wrote in the back of the van during Decibel tour). The recording process was a challenge. I recorded both rhythm guitars in Portland in 3 short afternoons, but I had only an hour to record the 12 string guitar tracks (& Timpani!). We bought a guitar, and I had to wing it before we'd return it to guitar center before closing hours, which was also right before my flight home. The strings being rusty and overly rigid on top of bad posture resulted in acute tendonitis. I hadn't had tendonitis this bad since 2011. The symptoms lingered for weeks as I went back home to lay down the guitar overdubs and solos in my home studio. Playing through the pain led me to interesting paths. I wrote half of the album, so there were a lot of ways to circumvent this issue, phrasing wise, being intimately familiar with the harmonic structure of the songs. I did wrap it up a bit later while putting down some synth work on two songs in Florida, so thankfully, there was a break to be had. It was a lot of hard work for both Phantomslaughter and I, so it is nice to see it finally pay off after many months of waiting.
A musical highlight I think we achieved is blending so many styles of metal fluently. An attentive listen to the record will reveal that we have structured our songs completely differently from any band that has influenced this album. Another highlight for me is Witchmoon, featuring one of my idols Marty Friedman whose musical influence is all over this album.
We are very excited to play this material LIVE! everywhere. I also have CD and 2LPs from Century Media available on my own distro Productions TSO for people in Québec, Canada wanting to get the album'
