White Worm Cathedral
2014 Season of Mist
It's been a long and ugly road for this album to be recorded and released. Hopefully Killjoy and the rest of the band feel that the end result has been worth it, because I sure as hell do. "White Worm Cathedral" is just as twisted and sick as you expected it to be. So far, they've never let me down. We'll of course discuss Killjoy's performance, but first let's examine the other elements of the album. Movie samples are used sparingly throughout and are never very long or ones you've heard fifty times elsewhere. Yes, keyboards are present, but as with other Necrophagia albums they're expertly used in a way that adds to the dark atmosphere. They don't take over or become a main instrument. But I'd expect nothing less from Mirai Kawashima of the mighty Sigh. Guitars and bass are of course filthy-sounding as ever with the same nasty tone that we fans rabidly demand. And of course there's the ungodly master of ceremonies himself... Killjoy. How he hasn't permanently damaged his vocal cords is beyond me. As always, he puts everything he's got into his performance, sounding as sick and deranged as ever. As an overall package, "White Worm Cathedral" delivers the death metal goods in spades. Obviously there's nothing here that's super-technical or will get any skin bashers or fret wizards saying, "I could have played that better." But if you wanted that, you'd be reading a review of a Malmsteen album instead, wouldn't you? This is death metal in one of its purest and earliest forms, from the same school as "Scream Bloody Gore," rather than "Altars of Madness" or "Left Hand Path." As I listen to this album, I can only dream of what Necrophagia would be able to put together for a stage show if they had the same bankroll that King Diamond did for his recent US trek. I'm sure there would be decapitations and dismemberings aplenty, and not in that cartoony GWAR style. After all, the band's motto is "GORE FOREVER!"
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