Wormwood - Decadent

Wormfood. If you thought the name was bizarre just wait until you listen to the music. These French experimental metal dudes sure know how to create out of this world music. Wormfood’s album “Decadent” is full of strange diverse heavy tracks which makes for an interesting experience. The band even throws in some live recordings to show the difference between how they sound in front of a crowd. To be honest the musical composition on this album is exceptionally well executed. Pertaining to the song writing I would have to say Wormfood comes up with extremely unique concepts. Usually the music’s overall atmosphere is very dark and haunting. The first two songs focus around a creepy carnival theme and there is a carousel playing in the background on the first song. I personally like the gothic horror style along with the singer’s dark spooky voice. My only problem is his vocals seem to switch from French to English or I have a hard time understanding what he is saying on certain songs.

On the song “Abortion Exit” I hear Wormfood experimenting with a more Industrial Metal sound. The presence of keyboards is highly emphasized during the introduction. I really like the sound of the bass player’s tone which is extremely low and heavily distorted. Another weird track that I enjoy on this album is “The Night of the Elderly.” Wormfood mixes their gothic metal sound with a grindcore style in certain parts. The riff in the song is a bit simplistic, but allows for an all around catchy gruesome tune. As I go through the rest of the album I notice the music keeps true to form with dark song structures and weird song titles. I think the song “The Dead Bury the Dead” is a haunting track and shows the solid level of musicianship each member of Wormfood possesses. From the gothic growling lyrics to the sinister guitar tone that song can possibly raise the dead. At the end of the song their is a dark chanting part which makes me think of a Satanic ceremony. 

The last half of the album features a collection of live tracks and a couple covers. I like the live tracks because I can hear how this band sounds live and compare it to the studio tracks. From the sound quality of the live tracks I can tell Wormfood puts on an insanely good live show. The music seems to be more intense and during the dark slow sections. Also, the small bursts of feedback adds to their horror themed sound. My favorite song on this album hands down is their cover of Type O Negative’s “Christian Woman” which they call “Femme Chréstienne.” I am a huge Type O Negative fan and I can tell the guys in Wormfood are too. From the chorus to the vocal tone the singer does a great job paying tribute to the late Peter Steele. 

Wormfood is an atypical band that musically steps outside the normal metal world. “Decadent” is a great album throughout because the music and lyric quality stands out due to the unconventional nature. I can tell Wormfood wants to make music they enjoy and it is reflected in each song. I think this album can be the start of something big, however like with Type O Negative strange music takes time to be appreciated. If someone was to ask me what is a great strange haunting intense sounding metal album to check out I would not hesitate to recommend Wormfood’s “Decadent.”

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  1. Carpathian Carousel
  2. Human Circus
  3. Abortion Exit
  4. Grandpa's Remission
  5. The Night Of The Elderly
  6. Hunger Anger
  7. Schlachthaus
  8. Licking The Bones
  9. The Dead Bury The Dead
  10. Acouphene
  11. Intro (Live - Blast Fest 2005)
  12. Bum Fight (Live - Blast Fest 2005)
  13. Tegbm (Live - Blast Fest 2005)
  14. Miroir De Chair (Live - Blast Fest 2005)
  15. Comptine (Live - Blast Fest 2005)
  16. Vieux Pédophile (Live - Blast Fest 2005)
  17. Femme Chrétienne (cover Type O Negative)
  18. La Décadanse (cover Serge Gainsbourg)