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brutal resonance
Now after a long hiatus from Brutal Resonance reviews whilst working on my own musical endeavors I have returned to do my public service by presenting good music and calling out the shit bands. Fortunately in the case of Worms of the earth I get to spend this review saying nothing but compliments and constructive criticisms about this release.
To start off I find it very, very hard to classify this release, it has elements of industrial and ambient together that fit quite well. Sometimes it’s ambient and spooky while at other occasions it sounds like throwing pots and pans on a spinning roulette wheel. All the instruments and vocals flow well together and it just has a very rough, raw edgy appeal/aesthetic to it that I greatly admire for actually staying consistent and hard in this era of clones.
The visual aesthetic is also something that appeals to me, as it is also very dark and well designed to keep me interested. But what is best about it is how well the cover captures and demonstrates the content so vividly and so well. To me, music is 50 percent music & 50 percent image/promotion.
You may have the greatest material in the world, but if you don't look the part you won’t get far. However if your some talentless corporate bland life form with a marketing board behind your bum then it's a given that you'll go gold and be forgotten within the next fortnight.
But Worms of the Earth stand out to me, they do not compromise for sound or ideology and that is something I can really respect. The crown jewel of the release is easily the remix done by vicious alliance. Everyone who knows me knows that I am a gigantic Vicious Alliance fan. And every single time Vicious Alliance release a remix I eat it up and cherish it like it was my hypothetical child's first fledging words.
I apologize personally to Worms of the Earth for the lateness of this critique, I have been wrapped up heavily within my own releases and my day job. Also a second apology goes to the next review lined up as well. But enough about my reasons take my word for it.
While it isn't flawless, this is a solid release. And you'd be a fool not to give it a chance.
Gerard Hawkins
05 Sep 2011
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connexion bizarre
Worms of the Earth’s Dan Barret is back to demonstrate his genius once again with skull-crushing rhythmic precision and engulfing soundscapes that will leave you with mental images lingering into the night of unholy rites. “The Lesser Ophidian Gate” is a 4-track EP with two bonus tracks featuring a remix by Vicious Alliance. The first four songs flow like a concept album followed by a brief intermission and a menacing “Untitled (Trapped in Bardo)” and an EBM influenced mix of “And I’ve Become The Demon” to close out the release.
The first song, “To Dawn The Visage Of The Serpent”, sets the stage for this menacing album with an atmosphere that groans as it gives birth to metallic percussions. The beat changes and plunges in the blink of an eye to hard distorted pounding and lulling melodic intermissions amidst the throb. “Traversing The Saurian Abyss” slows the tempo for an introduction again to drones and slithering effects before bashing your face in with rapid fire drums ridden by high strings – this song only stops in time to pull back its fist and catch its breath before continuing the assault. “Passing through The Deep” startles the listener with its melody and demonstration of space amidst the sounds of water and a woman’s moans. Don’t be fooled, this is just a precursor to the foot-tapping beats and female harmony that glides in direct contrast to the scraping raw snares. “Ajina (Viewing The Bodiless Realm)” is an IDM nightmare come true with a two minute intro reminiscent of Dead Voices On Air. The body of the song is a display in Dan’s versatility with this project, flowing from rhythmic noise to light melodies over complex rhythms and perfect transitions. The untitled intermission lingers for a mere twenty seconds before bringing on the bittersweet “Untitled (Trapped in Bardo)” which is a crescendo of remorse and frustration that is by far my pick from the album. The closing song, a remix of “And I’ve Become The Demon” by Vicious Alliance seems out of place on this release, trading the suspense for club anthem synths and distorted vocals; it is almost like what you hear after seeing a great horror film while scanning the credits, it is a well done remix but seems like it would fit better on a more dancefloor oriented album versus the prior hour of intelligent atmospheres. All in all, I highly suggest this release to any fan of rhythmic noise, dark ambient and simply great production.
– James Church [8.5/10]
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dark twin cities e-zine
From an "official" standpoint, The Lesser Ophidian Gate is the sophomore release from Baltimore's Dan Barrett, a.k.a. Worms of The Earth. Barrett's first label-backed album was a striking curiosity titled The Angels Of Prostitution released by Canada's Bugs Crawling Out Of People in 2008. It featured imaginative rhythmic noise coupled by ambient leanings geared more toward darker tastes with a definitive nod aimed at fans of the fiction stemming from H.P. Lovecraft's reign as godfather of horrific exploitation in early twentieth century literary pulp. Yet the material was difficult to dismiss as genre-specific absurdity considering how Barrett lent a steady and unrelentingly imaginative hand to sounds well tread, making Angels one of the more surprisingly satisfying treats his new label had to offer. WOTE is, quite simply stated, one of the best acts with which you are as of yet entirely unfamiliar. The time has come to rectify this unfortunate situation.
This is a six track "EP," essentially, featuring four new songs (representing the four keys to the gate) and two remixes. "To Dawn The Visage Of The Serpent" is a sprawling eight and a half minutes of brooding atmosphere and cutting electronics. Cavernous atmosphere is interrupted by a spare, near-tribal intro rhythm that is ultimately fed through an abattoir of scissoring sounds and eerie melody. In the hands of most a track this lengthy would be a wasteful enterprise bereft of the creativity to justify such an investment of time. Barrett managed to keep you interested, however, through subtle variances and well-programmed rhythmic interplay all the way through. He follows up that arresting performance with "Traversing The Saurian Abyss," a glitchy and much more aggressive number with some nightmarish vocal, synth and percussive layering that will test the limits of your auditory capabilities.
From there WOTE takes a decidedly more ambient turn with "Passing Through The Deep," featuring a ghostly female voice and a more traditional, pulsing beat pattern with skittering distortion over the top. Finally, "Anja (Viewing The Bodiless Realm)," has more in common with Dark Electro than Rhythmic Noise, showcasing a sprawling, atmospheric passage with spare percussive elements, reminiscent of acts like dISHARMONY. Blending brooding melody with lush synth and doses of punctuating glitch it's structured in such a way as to seem less like a movement and more of a journey through regions not well-traveled.
An extended remix of "Untitled (Trapped In Bardo)" unfolds over the course of nearly nine minutes. While a moderately interesting piece it's the one instance where brevity might have been the wiser course of action even though the garish, near-epic build toward the end is ultimately satisfying. The Vicious Alliance remix of "And I've Become The Demon" makes for a jarring juxtaposition from the preceding track. This is just standard Terrorbanana fare which might find a home in the clubs but detracts from the grandeur of the rest of the material presented in this collection. With a running time of nearly 45 minutes The Lesser Ophidian Gate offers more than just a quick dose of the artist to tide you over until the next release. There is plenty here to digest. You should take a chance on this always intriguing project as it consistently delivers plenty of interesting rewards.
Review by Christopher Roddy
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dark entries zine
8/10
Hoe zeer we ons zelf ook mogen verheerlijken en hoe graag we ook met zilveren lepeltjes rijstpap in de hemel willen eten (welke idioot heeft die gedachte ooit uitgevonden?) zullen wij vergaan tot de wormen der aarde, tenzij u gecremeerd wordt natuurlijk.
Spikkeldonkere gedachten?
Dan moet u de muziek van Worms Of The Earth er maar eens op naslaan.
Ondanks de naam die doet vermoeden dat je hier één of andere black metalcollectief gaat horen, houdt Dan Barrett (wat dat is de mens achter dit project) zich bezig met dark ambient dat doorspekt is van industriële beats, distortion en EBM.
Het is allemaal zeer ritmisch en zeer dansbaar maar tegelijkertijd intens donker en dan dringen zich natuurlijk vergelijkingen op met Sonar, Imminent Starvation of Winterkälte.
Vruchtbare vergelijkingen want net als de bovenstaande groepen zorgt Worms Of The Earth voor een onweerstaanbaar dansritme die maakt dat de buren hun bezemstok klaar hebben maar het werkt, ook al zijn er dark ambient-interludes die ideaal zouden zijn voor één of andere morbide horrorprent.
De cd draagt wel de titel van een EP maar 44 minuten muziek gaat al eerder de richting uit van een CD.
Wie deze fantastische release in huis wil hebben zal zich wel moeten haasten want deze EP is gemaakt op (jawel) 100 exemplaren.
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regen e-zine
Rating: 4/5
The sophomore EP from Worms of the Earth continues down the decrepit path of blending dark atmosphere with intelligent production, making for a brutal listening experience.
It's gratifying in the digital age to see an artist rise through the mire of any genre he or she may be associated with and focus on improvement of style and technique. Such has been the case with Dan Barrett and his Worms of the Earth project; with a plethora of web-only releases showcasing an abrasive style of harsh industrial and power noise, it wasn't until his official debut in 2008, The Angels of Prostitution, that Barrett's musical path was set, marking an improved production and compositional ability that stood out as a work of unbridled intensity and aggression. With his sophomore release, The Lesser Ophidian Gate, Worms of the Earth continues to explore the darker, more mysterious and dismal recesses of the musical psyche.
Equal parts industrial, power noise, and dark ambient, The Lesser Ophidian Gate takes the formulas set forth by the previous album and pushes them into a much more uniform direction. Beginning with the sonic abyss of "To Dawn the Visage of the Serpent," the listener is plunged into a decayed miasma of dungeon-like samples, the sounds of labored breathing, shards of metal, and insects scurrying through the muck giving way to a throbbing industrial beat that is as danceable as it is grating to the ears, dimming ever so often to let slithering synth melody take over. The beats and the synth leads are not dissimilar to what many refer to as terror EBM, but the subtle complexity of the arrangements - offset by carefully constructed glitches - makes for a decidedly intense and intelligent sonic assault. The next two tracks, "Traversing the Saurian Abyss" and "Passing through the Deep" follow suit with a similar dark ambient buildup giving way to a noisome thorax of cacophonous industrial mayhem, with the despairing ambience of vigintillion-years-old submarine creatures lurking in the sonic spaces. However, once "Ajna (Viewing the Bodiless Realm)" comes in with its vapors of subterranean atmosphere, the restrained tempo and bleak melodic passages kick in for an equally apocalyptic, but much more accessible brand of despair. The same can be said for "Untitled (Trapped in Bardo)," with the resonating pianos amid squalid bedrock of fearful samples and dirge-like percussion creating an air of cruel abandonment into the darkness of worlds' ends.
At 44 minutes long, The Lesser Ophidian Gate runs a bit long for the average EP, with Vicious Alliance offering a bit of dance floor terror EBM with their remix of "And I've Become the Demon" to close things out on an upbeat but no less decrepit note. As on The Angels of Prostitution, the production is excellent with every note shimmering clear, the noisier elements never overtaking the mix, and all set to a singularly vicious and bleak musical theme that on its own is better than most horror films. It is this quality that makes Worms of the Earth certainly not for all tastes, but there are few experimental artists that are able to juxtapose dark atmosphere and aggressive noise with intelligent production and well thought out composition as exemplified on The Lesser Ophidian Gate.
By: Ilker Yücel
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