Dirge

Wormrot maybe on a hiatus right now but boy have they left us with a huge chunk of wholesome delicious grindcore to play around with. ‘Dirge’ is the band’s sophomore full length effort. Personally for me though, it is the first album of theirs that has really gotten me into this trio’s brand of music. It’s an eighteen minute aural assault which I have been listening to on my ride between home and work for many days. So how did Wormrot catapult themselves to world-wide recognition? I think it’s the mass appeal to the fans of the genre and ‘Dirge’ most certainly places them as one of the choicest flag bearers of this sub-community.

The band dives into the album in a purposeful dreary manner and while the ensuing wait lasts a good thirty seconds, the tempo quickly picks up with the second track ‘Compulsive Disposition’. The album is nicely balanced with songs which range from grinding tracks that serve as walls of sound to groovy guitar-driven forty second anthems. Arif, the vocalist, brings in three different vocal styles into the record with his screeches, guttural growls and decipherable screams. This can be clearly heard on the track ‘Butt Krieg is Showing’. Rasyid’s simple yet effective guitar riffs make for this album to be such a delight to listen to. This is again demonstrated in tracks like ‘Principle of Puppet Warfare’ and ‘Manipulation’. While the guitar riffs may sound simple, it’s the coupling with Fit’s drums which makes all these songs so unique and memorable. One might ask - memorable in grindcore? It does. The duo weaves through each of the songs with the tempo changes, leaving the listener with no choice but to be alert throughout the eighteen minutes. Fit, in my opinion, is the backbone of the band. His drumming is impeccable and ferocious. He seemed like a diminutive man behind the kit but when I saw them live earlier this year, he replicated everything on the record to the live performance. That is when I appreciated his skill and perseverance even more.

There is a four second song titled ‘You suffer but why is it my problem’. It seems very tongue in cheek with reference to Napalm Death’s ‘You Suffer’. There is no source citing a connection but I just found it a little hilarious. The album closes with two of the longer songs - ‘A Dead Issue’ and ‘The Final Insult’. Both songs are equipped with a battery of pounding guitar riffs and their characteristic and very well placed tempo changes.

An important feature about this album that I love is that it is well produced without being too polished. It invokes a feeling of being present at the band’s live show, which I believe any self-respecting band in this genre aims for. I highly recommend this album to any metalhead who loves fast no nonsense music and who also has an inclination towards groove. I rate this album as one of my favourite grind/grindcore albums of all time and I look forward to what Wormrot has to offer us in the future.