Every now and then and album comes along that defines a genre for me. In the world of death metal you hear names like Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation, Dying Fetus, etc. For almost the past decade, Wormed's Planisphaerium has been in that elite pantheon for me. Originally released in 2003, then 2005 with these bonus tracks, and now with their recent signing to Willowtip their discography is getting rereleased. Here it is remastered for an updated sound.
What makes this album so great? Take the brutality of prime Suffocation, mix in the best parts of Cryptopsy when they were actually good, and a sound all their own and you get the dissonant brutality that is Wormed. It's an absolute devastating aural assault.
Planisphaerium is a fucked up heavy trip through a sci-fi movie. Some complain about the production, but I feel the dark murkiness adds to the overall atmosphere. The remastering doesn't affect that at all. The riffs are twisted, technical, and oddly enough very memorable. The drummer is out of his damn mind and one of the best highlights. Vocally, Phlegeton has a weird gurgle sound that normally would drive me nuts, but it works perfectly here.
As I said, this was released in 2003 and again in 2005. It garnered a decent bit of critical acclaim in the underground. I put them in the names of the big boys of the genre, why aren't they more popular? Well, the disappeared for a little bit. We kept hearing of them writing. After some lineup changes we got a new 2 song ep in 2010. With this signing they promise a new album this year. I'm hopeful this is true. All I do know for certain is signing to a bigger label like Willowtip will only prove to spread their brand of original death metal even further.
Staff Rating
5.00/5
User Rating
0/5
Human Mincer.
I don't mind the recording, but I do trust their next full length will be along the same quality as their most recent EP.