Worm - The Armageddon Codex (2004, self-released)
This industrial/death metal band was a rather random find, truly
the underground distribution system at work. It was worth the effort.
As far as I know, this is the first release from this Egyptian outfit.
Nothing groundbreaking, but keeping the high tempo death metal tradition
alive. Dead-on riffing and low growling vocals, some tremolo picking,
chromatic scale solos, you know the drill.
The vocals are pretty standard for the genre, but are well-executed, and at
times are a bit catchy. The vocals appear to be in English, but I couldn't
really make them out, in true DM fashion.
There really isn't much of an industrial sound to this band other than
the processed sound. The guitar has a biting, harsh buzz to it, with lots
of high-end. I'm sure a lot of purists will start screaming about using
tube-amps upon hearing this band, but I believe the artificial tone is what
gives Worm its charm. I had to wonder what Worm would sound like if the
guitar tone was slightly tweaked to resemble the type of tone used by Sonic
Mayhem on the Quake 2 soundtrack. Possibly disastrous, but maybe worth
experimenting with.
Worm takes a Fear Factory-esque approach with precision drumming, and a few
keyboards/samples here and there, resulting in a mechanized Cannibal Corpse
/ Hypocrisy effect. Honestly, the keyboard work is a bit weak compared to
the death metal styling. Not that it's bad, but it's only mediocre. Most
of the sounds are probably something like a Yamaha DX-7 with factory presets.
If they improved the industrial elements it could give them that extra
something to make them really stand out. Get a keyboard/sample guru and
really work it, guys!
The production is fairly good, with just the right amount of grime to give
it that industrial edge, while still remaining listenable. Being a demo,
there are some points that are a bit too raw, but that's forgiveable. I
would love to see this band take some time to really rework this demo and
record it in a proper studio and have it professionally mastered. There's
a lot of promise here. This demo is short and sweet and leaves you looking
forward to more.
Track listing:
1) Intro
2) Codex
3) Warlust
4) Dominion
5) Outro
Total playing time - 12 minutes, 35 seconds
contact: wormnoizz@hotmail.com