In preparation for their new album release, I decided to revisit this Doomed-out, tuned-down LP of metal bliss and cerebral destruction. Recorded in Baton Rouge, LA, the wicked whispers of the swamp metal band Woorms deliver their unique perspective on the underground scene through creative choices and audio layering. Getting into the zone before I take this journey with you, I shall toast to Toulouse, a theater of the past. Now the stage has been properly set. The smoke has cleared from cigar and cigarette trails along the corners of the quarter. It’s time I travel down I-10 to Baton Rouge to my old house on Highland Road. As the oak trees cast shadows above me, I listen on in anticipated anguish. The memories are becoming eerily clear to me.
Founded by Joey Carbo in 2017, Woorms paints the canvas black, transitioning from Joey Carbo’s more experimental solo material to the riff machine that is Woorms, with an electric upright bass and a fuck all rhythmic misanthropic seance.
Formed in Baton Rouge, La, in the country, the silence is dissolved by the sounds of indigenous insects and wildlife. In the darkness I sit, listening further. This album is my guide, and the memories of cypress trees haunt my shattered past.
Twitching, as Prey commences with an impact. The track opener Take His Fucking Leg, the second singles off the album, demanded my attention from the first crash of symbols and swelling feedback. The grey-bathed fuzz guitar tone and neurosis-style root notes punching, gnawing at the bone. From the start, I must give credit to the album’s production: a full, expansive, layered audio experience that can hold its own with the engineering of past metal albums. The vocals pull you further into the competition, angry, humid, observant, and calculated. A snarl like a scream emanates from a voice warmed by Southern Comfort and pipe tobacco.
The second track, Escape Goat, continues the masquerade of madness. A drum-and-bass rhythmically gallops to the gallows. This band never disappoints when it comes to southern low-end indulgence; the musicians are in sync with every thunderous, smoky low-end riff. I am treated to tribal rhythm sections and excellent vocal cadence. The feeling of driving a muscle car down the 610 to downtown Baton Rouge seeps into my subconscious, armed only with a pen, paper, and a Pentagram cassette tape.
Next on the album is track three, Unicorn Corn, which was the third single off the album. This is a banger with a bass intro and of course, this band utilizing its surroundings to grow from its influence rather than standing before it. The beauty of dread-filled harmonies and eerie samples add a foreboding feeling toward the end but never strays from the thick distorted groove.
Woorms now brings us their instrumental track, Fire is a good servant. Which is a refreshing blend of throbbing gristle-esque noise loops, distorted layers, and harmonic guitar pedal manipulation.
Silence and the Saints, the first single from this album,hits you when you least expect it. The bridge is composed of soaring phaser sounds and Melvins-style rhythmic transitions, an aural atmosphere worth exploring.
Changing lanes now is the song Beauty Is a Trick of Light & Sorrow. Clean guitar chords, organ, and gospel preaching invade the audio landscape which certainly makes it one of my favorite tracks on Twitching as Prey. Henry Rollins once said in reference to Scott Wino’s vocals, “a man who is slow to anger stays angry a long time.” This quote really hits home when listening to Joey Carbo’s punishing vocals in the mix. This is everything I love about metal singing!
Tracks Line and Fire is a Bad Maste lead the march into the second half of the album with a vengeance. Line teases the groove out in the beginning, pausing a few times to allow us a moment to process what’s coming. Joey remains emphatic throughout, chanting and growling into my cerebral. On Fire is a Bad Maste, the band ushers us into the next stop with crunchy, distorted residue. The following track, Because They Looked Like Crosses, brings a Swans experimental tone to the dynamics which I think you all will enjoy.
What if the Sisters of Mercy found a mellotron synth, an acoustic guitar, and jammed in Baton Rouge to The Devil and the Sea? I have no clue, but the result could sound like the album’s closing track, God Botherer, an amazing composition that can soar you to the top of the Louisiana capitol building or submerge you like the U.S.S. Kidd.
As my journey with Twitching, as Prey comes to an end, I encourage you all to give this a listen on streaming and the band’s official social media sites; their entire back catalog is worth the treasure hunt, or digital unearthing if you will. And if you’re at a live Woorms show, don’t forget to take a moment to buy some merch or a drink for the band. Thank you all for taking the time to read my review, and as always, I’ll see you again real soon. Fuck, I need to get back to New Orleans before I hit the LSU game traffic.
Salut’
Author: Ryan McKern
Editor: David Trahan
Note from the editor: Fatalismo was the third record following Twitching, as Prey. Areola Borealis came between those two. It was a split LP but WOORMS’ side is a twenty-two-minute song that was rereleased as a standalone 12” EP. There’s another split album coming and it’s with West End Motel. WOORMS has recorded some covers slated for release but are being tight-lipped about them. They are, however, rumored to be Joy Division and Misfits. Talking Heads and Tom Waits have also been mentioned but are unlikely even for WOORMS. There’s also another split coming after West End Motel but I was threatened with a pitchfork for going any further on that one.
