Wormwood - The Star

Angry Metal Guy

Swedish melodic black metal act Wormwood has a complicated history, and it all comes down to this. A string of albums have been hit or miss, as highlighted by the gone-but-unforgotten Akerblogger: 2017’s debut Ghostlands – Wounds from a Bleeding Land was a 4.0midable meloblack offering that balanced hooks and viciousness, while a follow-up trilogy installments one and two in concept albums 2019’s Nattarvet and 2021’s Arkivet have largely fallen short, respectively reflecting famine and extinction’s inevitability. The Star represents a culmination for the five-piece, as the biblical star Wormwood wipes out a good chunk of humanity by poisoning the oceans and freshwater in the Book of Revelation. Will the Swedes capitalize upon their potential in the final and most climactic installment of their trilogy?

Reflecting the star crashing into the ocean, The Star represents the end of the world, hinted at by famine and devastation in previous installments. While vocals are scathing and sinister affairs fitting its apocalyptic theme, instrumentals balance lushness with drive, as big guitar plods offer the stars and powerful drums ensure fluid movement while crystalline synth floats atop. Ubiquitously pleasant but never quite reaching anything further, Wormwood’s fourth full-length is a confused album in its sanguine, rather stagnant representation of humanity’s extinction.

The best of The Star revolves around solid use of motifs. “Liminal” and “Galactic Blood” are perhaps the best examples of this, plodding guitar riffs providing the backbone while the synth takes the place of the leads, while nearly Gothenburg noodling gains precedent over the former. The best track here is “Thousand Doorless Rooms,” which utilizes this motif-based songwriting with some teeth to give a mysterious but heart-wrenching feel. This dynamic is further explored in closer “Ro,” whose heavy metal soloing and vicious vocals take Wormwood to their brink in a relatively climactic closer. In a surprising turn of events, clean vocals are a highlight here, gentle and subtle amid the waves of melody, and tracks like “Stjärnfall,” “A Distant Glow,” and “Ro” are benefited by their inclusion. The drums are a commanding element, cutting through the sound regularly, blastbeats elevating “Suffer Existence.” The spacious mix is forgiving, allowing a nearly airy and organic feel to the proceedings, and giving further emphasis to Wormwood’s more vicious elements: drums and shrieks.

The Star is always pleasant but hardly innovative, which calls into question its length and inconsistency. Even the best tracks like “Liminal” or “Thousand Doorless Rooms” can cut back at least a couple minutes, while “Suffer Existence” and “A Distant Glow” feel nearly unending. Wormwood also throws a curveball in the form of “Suffer Existence,” whose suddenly uneasy melody, relatively spooky atmosphere, and appearance of blastbeats make it feel like a last-minute inclusion – the weird folky fiddle in the middle of it certainly does not help much either. And while “Ro” features some neat little tricks that add to its more energetic conclusion, the album feels tonally stagnant as a whole, no real growth or movement occurring across tracks and some songs simply existing as better than others. Finally, although a complete nitpick, the meloblack stylistic choices are a bit of a conundrum, as lushness and harmonics don’t seem to jive entirely with the apocalyptic theme Wormwood encapsulates – there is very little punishment to be found on The Star, aside from the slightly more energetic but wholly inconsistent “Suffer Existence.”

The Star is ubiquitously pleasant. Melodic harmonic guitars clash with sinister vocals and powerful drums in a “how-to” manual for melodic black metal. If you’re a fan of Sacramentum, Old Man’s Child, or Dawn, you might find something to love with Wormwood. However, given how tonally stagnant yet strangely inconsistent The Star is, it’s better relegated to background music instead of front-row seats to humanity’s destruction. Given how confusing this is, it’s easy to wonder if Ghostlands was a fluke. The Star is competent, Wormwood’s blend of guitar leads and chilly synths providing a tasteful approach, but does it accurately represent the bombast and explosiveness of the great star ushering in an age of extinction? No, it does not.



Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Black Lodge Records
Websites: wormwood-official.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/WormwoodSWE
Releases Worldwide: May 31st, 2024

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