Slime-drenched and foul, the fetid fungal fiends of WHARFLURCH were splat forth in 2019, sent to belch forth their tale down the earholes of pitiful humanity. Regrettably, forces in and beyond their control resulted in banishment to from whence they came shortly after Psychedelic Realms Ov Hell of 2021. Months followed, years – aeons in the time of a band – accumulated until, reformed, the limbs of this creature that is WHARFLURCH, severed and sewn back in another configuration have again arrived from its planet of pus to bring us Mycodeath And Rebirth In The Outer Clusters.

‘Death Toll Horror’ blips and bleeps its way into the aural transitory paths before a monstrous, anvils-swinging-on-chains riff takes the controls, no step missed during the now-duo’s absence – fitting, as some of this material has been gestating, marinating in mire for nearly five years. Rife with pinch harmonics, the beginning of ‘Forgotten Temple’ skitters, the production overwhelmingly low-end, which sometimes distracts from the higher pitched frequencies with which WHARFLURCH plays, sometimes is accentuated by them. Rogue waves of keys/synths tower over, then crash down upon us.

‘Headless God’ approaches slowly, almost sublimely, before a thrash-infused riff malevolence only to then rear its mushroom-capped dome, contemplating the space-born and space-borne cosmic atrocities planned for piteous humankind. Doom laden and weighty, ‘Dimensional Parasite’ veers wildly into scathing solo, then returns to its original theme. It’s with ‘Heaving Orbs’, though, that the sheer density of what’s been at work in this album comes to the fore. Grandiose in scope, completely enveloping in its myriad textures, this is WHARFLURCH at its best. Its sense of the dynamic is ignited and meticulously arranged with purpose to give less of a “peaks and valleys” vibe, and more the image of a listener yanked forcefully from precipice to crevasse, then back again. Disjointed, yes, but in the most impressive of ways.

Approaching nine minutes in length, the would-be title track is a finale in the truest sense of the word, claustrophobia bleeding out catharsis across the galaxies which Mycodeath And Rebirth In The Outer Clusters has carried us. I’m struggling to think of a sophomore album that has shown such an insane amount of growth from the debut and drawing a blank at the moment. And, considering this album almost wasn’t at all, maybe that’s fitting. Have the fungi taken hold of my cerebral organ, and do they even now redirect my neurons to do their bidding? Time will tell…
Review By: Lord Randall

WHARFLURCH
Mycodeath And Rebirth In The Outer Clusters
Personal Records / Gurgling Gore / Dawnbreed

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