Wormrot, Dirge
2010 was a hell of a year for Singapore’s Wormrot. Their debut album, Abuse, leveled grind-core fans worldwide with a throw-back, snarling ferocity and unrelenting delivery. It was an homage to everything that I love about grind — short, violent tracks delivered at break-neck speeds.
What more could you want really? More aural bludgeonings you say? Well, have no fear, Wormrot are back with another solid helping of grinding destruction in the form of Dirge — 25 tracks in about 18 minutes. That good enough for you? No? How would you feel if I said Earache Records released it for free to combat leaked copies on the web? Yeah, that’s what I thought.
At any rate, you’re probably one of a handful of people who haven’t already greedily snatched up a copy of Dirge and are currently missing out on what essentially boils down to Abuse part two. The three piece deliver early Napalm Death mayhem mixed with influences from Phobia and the now defunct Insect Warfare. There’s no point in dissecting this EP as it would take less time to listen to the whole thing twice than it would for me to try breaking down any of the material on it. That said, there are a couple of tracks that I thoroughly enjoy: the thrashy “Compulsive Disposition,” the devastating “Overpowered Violence,” the split personality of “Evolved Into Nothing” and the oddly groovy “Principle Of Puppet Warfare.”
It’s evident that Wormrot have hit their stride, despite a slightly formulaic sound (it’s delivered so fiercely that any sense of a template goes out the window, along with the kitchen sink). It’s a full force shot of grinding blunt force trauma, but, while I appreciate what the band has done with this latest effort and applaud Earache letting it go for free, I feel that Abuse is the superior album. I love the hell out of the new material, don’t get me wrong, but the first album hit with such an impact that the crater in the side of my skull has yet to reshape itself naturally. Still, if you’re in the mood for some grind, then this shit is for you.