Wormwood – The Star
Release Date: 31st May 2024
Label: Black Lodge Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Melodic Black Metal, Post Black Metal, Atmospheric, Progressive, Folk.
FFO: Kvaen, Panopticon, Insomnium, Agalloch, Kampfar, Dark Tranquillity, Taake.
Review By: Rick Farley
Sweden’s modern, melodic black metal band Wormwood returns with album number four, The Star. An album that concludes the magnificent trilogy set forth about the subject of death. The first being Nattarvet, the second Arkivet and now The Star which is releasing May 31st, 2024, via Black Lodge Records. Nattarvet tells of the grim famine that plagued the people in the nineteenth century Nordic region. Arkivet or The Archive focused on the inevitable downfall of mankind as a whole, and The Star tells the story of the end of the universe as we know it. A huge three album undertaking that is well worth your time to discover.
Musically speaking, The Star is a slight departure from what we have come to expect. It is not necessarily a bad thing, and some may even feel the bands current cosmic sound fits well with the theme of the end of the universe, and truthfully it does work. However, for me personally, the album leans too far into the melodic territory of bands like Dark Tranquillity and Insomnium. Both great bands, but they already exist. Wormwood is already known to have their own distinctive sound, so I am not sure why The Star seems to be the result of taking the safer route this time around. Track two, A Distant Glow, actually sounds like it came off of Winters Gate. I truly do not mean that negatively, it is just that judging this against their already great discography, you can clearly hear the progressive unpredictability and edgier black metal is much less present this time around. For better or worse, it is simply more melodically familiar. After releasing the incredible Arkivet, I suppose I can see how hard it would be to top that. As good as this record is or will be considered to be, it should not be labelled as an evolved sound from the first two records of the trilogy. It’s actually more of a departure in sound. Take that as you will.
With that said, The Star is still above what other bands producing this kind of metal are putting out and should be talked about accordingly.
The album kicks off with Stjarnfall an emotive post black, tremolo searing, guide into the shadowy world of Wormwood’s atmospheric blackened soundscape. Calming and introspective yet harsh and extreme all melded together concisely. A moody but calm middle section drifts the listener off into spacey airiness only to erupt into a short fiery black metal section before clean layered vocals over familiar chord progressions wanders out towards the end of the track.
Suffer Existence is an atmospheric black metal powerhouse. Blast beats over moody tremolo riffs, while shrieky highs and raspy bellows call out into the dark universe. Huge swaths of distorted guitars sound ablaze while progressive elements slither in, transitioning to a folky foot stomper with an almost sea shanty violin melody dancing along. It works remarkably well within the context of relentless black metal that still somehow feels rather optimistic. You can easily drift off into a dream state. Complete with female clean vocals contrasting the harshness towards the end, this track stands as a highlight and my personal favourite.
The Star was mixed and mastered by renowned metal producer Sverker Widgren from Wing Studios in Stockholm. Big, bright, and tonally warm, the production enhances the airiness and space the music radiates.
Despite The Star not being scored higher, this is still an engaging, beautiful, albeit safe record that will more than likely please the fans of the band and probably garner newer ones. I judged this on the quality of the other two releases within the trilogy, otherwise it might be a tick up. Wormwood however is well worth your time if you’re unfamiliar with them, and I urge you to check out the band’s discography.
(3.5 / 5)
