ALBUM REVIEW: Venom – Wargasm

Bursting onto the scene back in 2019, nu-metal duo WARGASM have had a unique methodology of releasing their music. Over the last few years, we’ve had a smattering of singles (11 in total) which have kept fans on their toes waiting for what kind of track was coming next. This worked well especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, as it gave us an excuse to have something to look forward to rather than putting their eggs in one basket and releasing everything in one go. 

Building up a sense of notoriety along with these singles, WARGASM have amassed a decent sized fanbase which has seen them begin to pull in larger crowds at festivals, and also headline larger shows. They have caught the attention of larger bands such as LIMP BIZKIT, ROYAL BLOOD and ENTER SHIKARI to support or collaborate with, and it’s always fun to see a small band doing well, particularly in the harsh landscape that is the music industry. Last year saw them release a selection of songs as a collective for the first time in their career, the short and punchy EXPLICIT: The MiXXXtape which showed that they were on the right track in their trajectory and an album wasn’t too far away. July 16th saw the band finally announce their long awaited debut album: Venom. 

Upon listening, it’s safe to say that WARGASM rarely deviate from their sound that they’ve adopted over the last few years. It’s like the AC/DC school of thought: find your style and stick with it. While this is a safe option, the album falls into the trap of the majority of its songs sounding the same. There are however a handful of highlights that do show promise and show a rare deviation into something interesting on the record. Death Rattle and S.A.D show a lot of what the album could have been as they see the band fall into an almost NINE INCH NAILS industrial metal style approach. The former has that slow, sinister and almost seductive quality of the Downward Spiral–era of NIN, while the latter once again shows off this influence by displaying an oppressive and visceral beat, very similar to that of March Of The Pigs. If they’d had followed this route then they’d have maybe had a great album on their hands. 

Another stand out moment of the album is one of the lead singles, Bang Ya Head, which features none other than the nu-metal legend Fred Durst. It’s a great tune that works as a very infectious earworm, and you’ll be bouncing around in no time listening to it. The final highlight of the album, Do It So Good, feels like if THE PRODIGY had produced DARUDE’s; Sandstorm as it has that classic 90s electronic sound and has a great rave quality to it that is bags of fun. It’s just a shame that out of 13 tracks, there’s only four of them that stand out. 

Overall Venom is a frustrating listen. It’s definitely an album that’s going to come across much better in a live environment than listening to it on a record player or through your headphones. One of the biggest aspects that lets it down is the feeling that it’s too over-produced and too clean cut. An element that’s always been fun about WARGASM is the fact that they’ve always had a rough around the edges and almost grubby feel to them, particularly with their great earlier efforts like Spit and God Of War, so it’s a crying shame that they didn’t go along with that style this time. 

While this record will please die hard WARGASM fans, it may struggle to win over new ones and leaves you feeling like they should have stuck to their original style of releasing music. It would have definitely benefited more by being an EP than a full blown record, displaying that sometimes, less is more. 

Rating: 6/10

Venom is set for release on October 27th via Island Records.

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