Is it a bad thing when one of the things coming to mind after the third or fourth spin of a Death-Doom-Metal record is that this in some strange ways is a ‘fun’ record? Well, maybe yes and maybe no, but for some strange reason the third full-length by Floridian Death-meets-Doomsters WORM has a certain fun element to it. How can that be when talking about a record that is definitely on the dark side of things? Let me explain…
When listening to Foreverglade there is one moment in each track which might lift your mood because you recognize something from a different record or a certain part just has a cool vibe to it. The artwork by Brad Moore is another one of the reasons for it because it is in some way such a classical thing without trying to mock the genre or overdoing it. The guitar solos are just wonderfully laid out and always hit the right point, never trying to do an Eddie Van Halen solo, yet also never trying to do one of those solos which any 8-year-old could do better.
Well, maybe it’s better to go through it song by song – not difficult if talking about a six-track-record, which still spans 44 minutes. So, let’s take this step by step:
The title track is the ’intro’ and that it definitely takes its time to develop even though it doesn’t step away from the norm. A few nice guitar hooks that are then accentuated by some short yet precise and powerful drum parts with the synths and ethereal elements pushing more to the front and then being kicked in the stomach by the guttural vocals and the riff and then the whole thing and then after three minute it turns into a thrash-inspired song, ending the ‘intro’ - an interesting way to start your record, I must say.
Next up is ”Murk Above The Dark Moor” and man, the track is just about right, because there is that certain dark twang to the guitar elements that pre-date the bells in the song and it sounds just like the final bell of Dartmoor before the Hound attacks the last of mankind. In some way this track seems to be the real foreverglade as it is the track which sounds most like the Everglades in WORM’s home state of Florida. That short moment when the song slows down and seems to exhale, with some monk-like chant in the background, is one of these moments that are real ‘fun’, because you can hear the band’s penchant for Gothic synths and for thrash-y riffs. The end of the song is also pretty poignant with its guitar solo from the glades.
”Cloaked In Nightwinds” is the longest track on the record with more than eleven minutes but is able to really keep the listener’s interest sparkling, because it definitely has some very nice moments, for example the minuscule element at the beginning which remind me of those tiny bells ringing during the transfiguration as part of a mass. Going along nicely with the title, there are some very yearning, longing chants on this track, as if we hear the dying voices floating towards us on a fading wind. This track is the “synthiest” of the album, but of course, it is not a synth-track, yet it is the most Gothic track on the record, for sure.
The fourth track is ”Empire Of The Necromancers” and the guitar are pretty shrill on this track with its nicely-paced drum parts and the cool groove to it. A track to make you nod your head in approval, also blessed with a well-incorporated guitar solo and an intensive shift towards a much speedier version of the song before again giving the audience a moment to relax. Very-well laid out.
”Subaqueous Funeral” is the shortest track with a mere 3,5 minutes (even shorter than the ”intro”) and simply one of those tracks where the Death Metal growls and the Black Metal shrieks meet and seem to hold an intense conversation, right before the final track, ”Centuries Of Ooze” starts to ooze out of our speakers (sorry, couldn’t resist the pun). One of the most diverse tracks on the record it seems to sum up all the elements heard in the tracks before:
Some mellow Gothic synths, harsh abrasive riffs, a good feeling for when a song needs some slowing down or some speeding up, when the drums have to pitch it up a notch, well-delivered vocals of very different kinds and all in all a record which for all its bits and pieces can be a nice moment to sit down, forget about thinking, and simply being pulled into the ‘Glades and let yourself be drowned gently. WORM takes you down a wormhole of Death-Metal goodness from which one will not rise too quickly!
