Worm’s ritual is about to begin.
With this fourth album, Necropalace, Phantom Slaughter (vocals/keyboards) and Philippe “Wroth Septentrion” Tougas (guitar/keyboards, Chthe’ilist, First Fragment, Funebrarum, ex-Equipoise, ex-Serocs, ex-VoidCeremony…) celebrate their signing with Century Media Records.
Bass was recorded by Necreon (Funebrarum, ex-Undergang, live for Hulder…) and drums by CK (Ascended Dead, Chthonic Deity, Vrenth, ex-VoidCeremony, live for Hulder, Incantation, Morbid Angel…).
We are welcomed into Worm‘s lair by Gates to the Shadowzone, an introductory track with dark and obvious Dungeon Synth atmospheres, but a guitar solo quickly shows us the way and lets us sink into the impressive Necropalace, a majestic eponymous composition. Phantom Slaughter‘s vocals add an aggressive touch, while the instrumental part shifts from icy Black Metal to imposing passages infused with oppressive keyboards, but the length of the track allows it to guide us through its intense accelerations and slower passages tinged with Doom. There are also long lead parts on the final that perfectly blend with the orchestrations, then Halls of Weeping takes over with similar elements, adding even more neoclassical influences before making its rhythm as heavy as desired, almost purifying it by anchoring it in suffocating darkness that moderates our advance towards the epic charges that await us. The track remains very distressing in its final moments before returning to piercing tones on The Night Has Fangs, which begins slowly but soon energizes its rhythm, letting the guitar and keyboards respond to each other before returning to soaring doom touches while playing with its dungeon-like allure and insisting on harmonics before granting us a new moment of respite to begin Dragon Dreams. However, this respite is short-lived, as the song returns to its haunting approach, swelling and transforming before our eyes into a massive riff that lets out a few enchanting keyboards that play with our minds while letting them wander and follow the guitar of Wroth Septentrion, who gives it his all between two bursts of vociferous cries. We think the song is over when a gentle breeze caresses our ears, but the darkness takes hold again, accompanied by choirs, before finally giving way to Blackheart, one of the shortest tracks, which reveals catchy, almost magical and accessible tones while remaining rooted in Black Metal. The contrast between saturation and clear sound is perfectly managed, contributing to the song’s unique identity before returning to its initial coldness on Witchmoon – The Infernal Masquerade, the final and longest track in the band’s discography, takes its role very seriously, revealing a fascinating richness that explores all these varied influences one last time, but also surprises us by welcoming guitarist Martin Adam “Marty” Friedman (Metal Clone X, ex-Cacophony, ex-Vixen, ex-Megadeth…) for a few leads that easily pierce the surrounding darkness.
The year has barely begun, but I am certain that there will be few albums as rich and varied as Necropalace! While Worm was slowly building a reputation in the underground scene, it has just dropped a bombshell and shown us its power through an hour of dark and wonderfully crafted riffs.
95/100
A few questions to Wroth Septentrion and Phantom Slaughter, respectively guitar player and multi-instrumentist founder of the Black Metal entity Worm, about the release of their fourth album, Necropalace.
Hello and first of all, thank you very much for your time! Tough one to begin, how would you describe Worm’s music without using the words “Black Metal”, or any other subgenre?
Wroth Septentrion (guitar): Dark, Cold and everchanging.
Do you remember how you came up with the name Worm back in time, and how do you still link it to the music you play now?
Phantom Slaughter (vocals/composition): In Germanic mythology Worm means dragon. I wanted something short and to the point. In present times the concept of dragons is heavily used in the lyrical content and even song titles.
Worm will soon release its fourth album Necropalace, how do you feel about it? Do you already have any feedback?
Wroth : We are proud of this album and I think people will talk about it for a long time, even those who claim to despise it. Maybe, it’ll even grow on them. I feel like this album will be a slow burn for many.
How would you sum Necropalace’s identity up in only three words?
Wroth : Traditional. Progressive. Balanced.
Worm’s sound is of course rooted in Black Metal from the beginning, but now also has influences from Doom Metal, Symphonic Black and even Dungeon Synth. What led you to make your sound evolve this way? Which bands would you quote as your main influences?
Wroth : On Necropalace, there is a big influence from bands like Samael, Abigor, Thorns, Emperor, Enslaved, as well as Cacophony and Symphony X. The extreme Doom influences remain of course, we just decided to experiment with tempo changes and layering techniques and make the black metal aspect a focal point. This shift in sound was hinted at with the song Shadowside Kingdom off our 2022 EP Bluenothing.
What is your personal favorite song on Necropalace, or maybe the hardest one to achieve?
Wroth : Blackheart is the catchiest song on the album, but I think Dragon Dreams and The Night Has Fangs are my two favorite songs on the album.
Necropalace is by far the longest album you made, did you think you would be this ambitious when you began to work on it? Where do you find your inspiration to create music and lyrics?
Wroth : We wanted to make an epic, cinematic conceptual album with long movements from the start. We knew what we were getting ourselves into. Classical music influenced the way we structured the songs. It is easy to find what 80s and 90s metal bands have influenced this album on the surface, but we structured songs quite differently from them on this album.
Legendary guitarist Marty Friedman has a guest spot on the last song, Witchmoon – The Infernal Masquerade, how do you feel about it? How did you reach him to ask him to participate in this song?
Wroth : I say this as someone who grew up listening to the 80s Shrapnel Records artist roster : I feel like we achieved something many metal bands can only dream of. Of course, we didn’t just do it to show off. Marty Friedman’s solo albums and work with Cacophony greatly influenced this album. It just made sense to ask him to play on it. All we had to do was message him directly. He already knew the band and once wrote to congratulate us on our Bluenothing EP back in 2022.
Do you think you improved yourself as a musician with this new record?
Wroth : I have made over 20 full length albums in my career. Every album is a milestone and I always try to outdo myself after each one. This album is no exception. I did many things on it I wasn’t able to do before songwriting wise and performance wise. Of course, it was all to serve the album and the music. There are moments where I could’ve gotten even further ahead of myself but it would’ve been out of place
I also noticed all the Old School and quite vampiric outfit Wroth Septentrion and you wear on the promotional pictures, how did you build the band’s visual aspect? Do you think it helps the audience to connect to your music?
Phantom: As the music and the art changes, the entities should also change in appearance to match the concept. Black Metal is an extremely visual genre. It is important that we keep things visually engaging and give nods to the past.
According to the internet (and the website setlist.fm), the band already played some live shows from 2023. How did you hire the live musicians playing with you? How did you manage to transpose a solo/duo work to a live performance?
Wroth : We only tour with trustworthy people and road dogs. Almost all the musicians we have hired for Worm tours and shows are people I had toured with in the past, either in my other bands or simply musicians from other bands that happened to tour alongside me. The only exception being the latest additions to our latest live line-up. I was obligated to hold virtual auditions as all our previously hired session 2nd guitar players were unavailable for a tour we got asked to do. We found an amazing fit in the end, and had past tourmates vouch for him so it was a no brainer. We also found our current session bass player thanks to a recommendation of our past live bassist. All guitar and bass parts were transposed, mapped out and rehearsed individually, then in a band setting before playing live.
What will come next for Worm? About music, live, anything.
Wroth : We have some tours in the works and we are already writing new music.
Have you ever heard of the French Metal scene? Are there any bands you know and like?
Wroth : I have played in a few French cities before. Paris is the only crowd that can rival Montréal where I’m from, and Edmonton, in terms of intensity. I love the French Heavy Metal scene a lot, too. I grew up on bands like Sortilège, Demon Eyes, ADX, Killers, Blasphème, Stallion and love bands like Loudblast, Catacomb, Merciless and Massacra.
Are there any bands you would love to play with? I let you create your dream poster with Worm headlining and three other bands, even unrealistic answers are accepted.
Wroth : I’d love to play with King Diamond, Candlemass and Judas Priest the most. As far as Black Metal goes, I’d love to tour with Rotting Christ the most. I feel like we could learn a lot from their work ethic.
That was the last question for me, so thank you very much for your time and your music, last words are yours!
Phantom: Hail Satan.