EP REVIEW: Metaportal – Wormed

By its very definition, technical death metal thrives on the ability of a band to push death metal to its very limits. With complex song-structures and mind-bending guitarwork blended together in a pot of brutality, to be the best in the style, you better have some tricks up your sleeves to stand-out in a now very populated crowd. Since 1998, Spanish outfit WORMED have been regarded as one of the premier bands in the technical death metal world. All the more impressive given their rather limited studio output. Three years on since the phenomenal Krighsu, the band are back with a new slab of tech goodness; Metaportal.

WORMED‘s adoration for science fiction is well documented, with the themes complimenting their hyper-ferocious brand of tech-driven death metal. And that trend very much continues with Metaportal, as the EP picks up where Krighsu left off, both in its overarching concept and sonic savagery. Opening number Remote Void kicks things off with a bang as the dazzling guitar-play from Migueloud combines wonderfully with Guillemoth‘s thick basslines and new drummer V-Kazar‘s frantic drumming throughout the track’s duration all whilst Phlegeton dispatches his sewage creature-esque gutturals with absolute ease.

Cryptoubiquity boasts some of the best musicianship on the record as the intertwining trickery evolve into meaty passages that threaten to snap your head clean off your shoulders whilst closing number E-Xystem://CE throws a few curveballs as a brooding piano-led intro paves way for a dynamic and evolving romp that makes the track resemble a hulking monster one minute, then a raging behemoth the next. Of course, WORMED‘s incorporation of sounds that feel akin to a sci-fi blockbuster are ever present and help bolster the impact of the brutality. The ambience in Cryptoubiquity‘s closure helps maintain a sinister atmosphere without the need for demolishing riffs and the subtle tones in Bionic Relic only help enforce Phlegeton‘s guttural blasts. Even the simple trick of just amplifying the volume in E-Xystem://CE‘s closure works a treat, as the band’s colossal build unnerves you one last time before drawing things to a close.

For all the things that Metaportal does right, and by God it gets so much right, the biggest criticism you can take away from this EP is that it just feels too short. With just four tracks and a total runtime of just shy of 17 minutes, by the time you’ve immersed yourself in WORMED‘s cosmic voyage, the EP finishes. It’s a shame as the quality of material on offer here is so sublime, you can’t help but wish for more.

Although Metaportal may be a bite-sized appetiser, the nourishment tastes this EP offers is nothing short of spectacular. Complex, ethereal and utterly monstrous, WORMED have served up a reminder why they are considered one of the premier acts within technical death metal and we can only hope that a new full-length is waiting in the wings.

Rating: 8/10

Metaportal is out now via Season of Mist.

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