This is my first encounter with WORMWITCH. The band belongs to a kind of subgenre where gloom reigns and black metal is just one flavor in an overall tasting. It resembles the approach of another band I recently encountered, FROSTHELM. But there is an extra layering of melody and mood here that surpasses what FROSTHELM was able to achieve. This is a pretty sophisticated sound with a number of subtle layers.
All the songs here are quite involved and have a root in black metal. Changes in riff and tempo are frequent but there are some catchy hooks that make this more accessible than the usual freezing BM blast. ‘Dancing In The Ashes’ and ‘Iron Woman’ are two atypical numbers that are hard to peg down to one specific sound or style. Last track ‘Alone Before The Doors Of The Silent House’ opens with a prolonged acoustic stretch and ends with windy ambience. Lest you think all is solemn melody, there are cuts like ‘Vernal Tomb’ and ‘Spiritual Braid’ that hit with furious intensity.
The real capper is ‘Midnight Sun’, which opens with amazingly powerful mid-pace chords before opening up into a really multi-faceted attack. That’s the one track that shows WORMWITCH’s promise the best. This is for sure a band to watch!
Review By: Dr. Abner Mality
WORMWITCH
Heaven That Dwells Within
Prosthetic Records
4.5 / 6