Published on Jun 5, 2001
Sometimes, words fail me when it comes time to write a review.
How does one express an idea he heard musically that seems to defy
description?
This is the case I’m faced with regarding the Norweigan
death-metal band Zyklon, whose debut album
World Ov Worms (no, that’s
not a mis-spelling on my part) was released earlier this
year. How do you describe something which is heavier than an anvil
falling on your head, but isn’t strictly death metal? How do you
describe something which has hints of industrial music intertwined,
but is most definitely not an industrial album? How do you describe
a band whose two guitarists also share the bass work, but who at
the time of the recording did not officially have a lead
singer?
How do you describe all that? How’s about “good”? How’s about
“damn good”? How’s about “slam your head into the steering wheel
until your eyes bleed damn good”?
The band – lead guitarist/bassist Destructhor, guitarist/bassist
Zamoth and drummer Trym – take metal to the extreme on
World Ov Worms, creating a sound which must be what the
Apocalypse will sound like. (Ah, so
that’s what I’ll hear the day the Cubs win the World
Series!) Add into this limited, but well-used, programming and
samples (courtesy of T. Akkerhaugen), the occasional female
spoken-word vocal from Persephone and the throat-scraping vocals of
Daemon, and you’ve got a band which is definitely not for the weak
of heart.
If
World Ov Worms has any weakness, it’s that the drums are
mixed so far into the front that they tend to blot out the guitar
and bass work – a shame, since they’re as integral to Zyklon’s
sound as the lightning-fast trap work by Trym. It also makes it
that much harder to decipher Daemon’s vocals on tracks like “Chaos
Deathcult” and “Terrordrome”. (The liner notes of my promotional
copy say the lyrics are anti-religious and apoclyptical – okay, if
you say so. I can’t tell.)
World Ov Worms is by no means an easy listen, but anything
that’s worth using your brain on has some level of challenge to it.
If this is the next wave in extreme death metal, then Zyklon is
definitely leading the way… and it will be interesting to
see how it develops in the years to come. This is an exciting
album, and well worth the sacrifice of time and your hearing.