Palace of Worms – The Forgotten
It is amazing to think that five or six years back American Black Metal was nowhere and now we’re receiving regular raids from them. This is yet another quality release from the USA in the shape of a one man band from San Francisco who’s music is aimed more towards the mainstream than outfits like Arizmenda and Volahn, but with an obvious mountain of talent has produced a more than notable debut album.
Featuring just seven songs, one of which is an instrumental, and clocking in at almost an hour there are mostly quite lengthy tracks. In many cases this would mean songs filled with needless repetitive riffing and slow boring breaks etc etc, not here. The musician behind it, by the name of Balan, has shown he has considerable ability and ideas enough to pack out these songs with interesting arrangements and consistent structuring.
At first, it feels progressive and it is with hefty bass influence and atmospheric guitars administering a deep layered sound. ‘Far From The Light’ ventures into quicker sections on a few occasions but slows down near the end into a ballad-like anthem. ‘The Antagonist’ is the longest track at over thirteen minutes and turns up the aggression switch a few notches, especially during the core of the song, with some nice dirty old school riffage accompanied by grim growling and rumbling percussion. There’s also a nicely timed and weighted break that builds the ambiance excellently.
You’ll realise after this song the competence and talent of Balan, to be composing then playing all instruments to this level is a commendable achievement. Structurally the songs keep you interested with changes at opportune moments. Songs like ‘Dead Man’ and ‘Rite of Blood’ include some memorable riffs that some serious replayability.
The best is saved for last though. ‘Fallow Earth Eternal’ is a ripping tune that’s like Taake and Negator soldered together. With intensity it blasts out for nearly two and a half minutes then plunges into a superb bridge section which forces you to stamp your feet and nod your head. After that it changes again for a while then slows down almost to a standstill while the final section introduces itself and finishes the song in a similar progressive manner to the opening moments.
This won’t appeal to everyone and like I said seems tailored towards more accessible avenues of Black Metal. But there’s no doubting this is a well made and proficient release featuring some great songwriting and ideas and will win many fans. There is pretty much something for everyone on this album as it covers quite a wide range of the Black Metal spectrum and is worth checking out.
Black Metal is dead. In the UK at least. Seeing as though it is the place that gave birth to the genre it is as fuckin’ useless a broke-dick dog. There is no scene to speak of, just the odd one or two equally useless bands trying in vain to mimic some of the more [...]
Opening with a song title of the length Bal Sagoth would be proud of (thankfully that’s as the only comparison to draw), the imaginatively titled ‘A Glimpse of the Image of Lucifer Gleaming Beyond the Subterraneous Black Sun’ marches forth. Mid paced, it stamps away with the precision of a well oiled Black Metal machine [...]
Ah, Palace Of Worms.
Quite a potential debut album, indeed.
indeed, USBM is one of the best these days, somewhat surprising, consider all those religious freaks down there.. or maybe exactly because of that.. I liked it instantly, excellent