This heavy trio hails from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, so suffice to say, they play low ‘n slow. But if you were expecting another Eyehategod or Crowbar clone, you might be mistaken. WOORMS offers up some shades of good ‘ol NOLA sludge, but it’s mixed in with noise rock and post-metal, with the end result having more in common with the Melvins
“Find a Meal, Find a Bed, Find a God” has the meditative verse of an OM or Neurosis, and it’s not until the three-minute mark that they stomp on the fuzz pedal for some heavy riffs, with a grungy, heavy ooze akin to mid-90’s Melvins. After a spoken-word, horror-movie intro, “Veni Vidi Fucki” settles into a mid-paced noise-rock stomp, with a devastatingly heavy riff that hits just 45 seconds from the end. “Stiff Upper Lisp” displays more of that Melvins grit and groove, although this one is a little more airy and atmospheric, with a laid-back stoner-rock vocal on the initial verse that sounds a little like a less-mellow Scott Hill.
“Mouth is a Wound” is a little more out there, with eerie, ringing riffs and a pounding, churning backbeat. Picture QOTSA’s “Feel Good Hit of the Summer” if Homme actually ingested all of those substances before hitting “Record.” There’s also a solid sludgy section around the midway mark, complete with spoken-word interlude. Things take a drone-doom detour with “Our Lady of Perpetually Shitfaced,” an 80-second melodic sludge (a la Torche or Big Business) pitstop with “Racist Kevin,” before getting back some seriously head-nodding noise rock on “Rise Crispy” and “Sore Afraid.”
Hey, if slightly quirky noise rock is your thing, this one will be right up your alley…
https://woorms.bandcamp.com/album/slake
(Sludgelord Records)
