I’ve been waiting for this album for a while now. WORM’s “Foreverglade” has been marked on my calendar and I’m delighted to be reviewing it. “Foreverglade” is the third full length by the horror-swamp masters from Florida and no, they do not disappoint. Remember the artwork of TOMB MOLD’s “Manor Of Infinite Forms” and GATECREEPER’s “Deserted”? Yes, it is the same artist who has graciously touched “Foreverglade” too. Brad Moore delivers a stunner once again and it truly reflects the ugliness underneath, in terms of simple genre tagging, I’d call it Death / Doom Metal but somehow that label does not do justice to what WORM has achieved here. They have woven together a template of brooding layers of atmospheric denseness with strings, synth and skins. The resulting explosion of sonic horror is not only glorious but also happens to rise above the releases this year that hinged on a similar approach. WORM seems to have meandered through the melodies of Gothenburg, paying homage to the greats of Florida sound whilst imbibing a new approach to blackened Death / Doom Metal songwriting. Track #2 ‘Murk Above The Dark Moor’ is a prime example! It is perhaps the most atmospheric Death Metal track we might hear all year. Opening with the cliched church bells, WORM ingest it all, from the discarded darkness of the summer filth to the applied distortion of time bound riffing, they take it a step at a time to round it off with a rhythm section so solid that it can hold back invading armies at will! Once the strength is established, the band simply breaks it apart to rewrite their approach mid-way of the song to stretch away to an oblivion of guitar driven savagery akin to a careful, planned and wilful butchery of reality. WORM absolutely shines in areas like these and it is a delight to listen to such passages. Track # 3 ‘Cloaked In Nightwinds’ is the longest track of the album, at 11 minutes, marrying a traditional HOODED MENACE’sque approach with layers of synth that have no bottom. Although the track takes a few minutes to settle in, WORM bounces back with the viciousness of poison slowly spreading across your body. The guitar solo eventually collides with the synth resulting in a remarkable sonicscape resulting in an amazing vista. This is perhaps a track that’ll sit really well with fans of MOURNFUL CONGREGATION! A very interesting aspect of track # 4 ‘Empire Of The Necromancers’ is the guitar solo, it pays homage to Chuck Schuldiner, something that was completely unexpected and yet fits into the tempo with ease. This is what the band does across all tracks, taking you by surprise by introducing these small elements that tangentially invoke the greats across the genre as a whole, and frankly you don’t quite expect these, particularly on a record like this which hinges on depths of distortion and an atmosphere with near zero visibility. All in all, WORM has put out a slab of very impressive blackened Death / Doom Metal in 2021. I sure hope a lot of fans will check “Foreverglade” out. 20 Buck Spin surely has another major victory here and I’m glad this label is working harder than ever to put such eargasm’s out for listeners. Here’s hoping a lot of fans give 45 minutes of their time to this record! I’ll definitely see them live, whenever that is. Highly recommended! For more information please visit https://wormgloom.bandcamp.com or www.facebook.com/20buckspin