Rendering their manifesto somewhere in between regional classicist worship, industry standard forms and their own stoked capabilities Giessen, Germany-based death metal quartet ORACLE OF WORMS arrive with a debut full-length album from a point of hazy, occasionally high potentiate idealism. A fusion of classic Swedish death metal forms given to mild use of black metal guitar techniques the sum impact of ‘Cult of Suffering‘ is familiar if not relatively safe yet it represents a strong step forth in developing melodic interest alongside their glossed, hifalutin HM-2 stamped sounds. As a debut it struggles to communicate signature personage or wholly coherent point of view yet this shouldn’t hinder the entertainment value of these sharply presented ‘old school’ inspired sounds.

Oracle of Worms formed back in 2021 by way of folks pulled from their local thrash, black, and death metal scenery as they’d band together for the sake of a Swedish death metal informed sound. Later that same year they’d released a rehearsal recording (‘Rehearsal IV XI MMXXI‘, 2021) chronicling their own balance of classic death tones, melodic black metal movement and some simpler metallic crust punk pieces (“Black Lodge”). This’d been crisply realized a couple of years later on their debut EP (‘Frost Falls‘, 2023) where a spongey Boss HM-2 guitar tone and ‘Nightwing‘-era Marduk attack recontextualized their approach, sapping rawness in exchange for a precision-cut blackened death metal slate sans any interesting melodic ideas. Between the band’s choice of logo and a polished-up sound I wasn’t all that keen on checking out what they’d do next back in 2023, I think they’ve done far more interesting things on this debut LP.

‘Cult of Suffering‘ offers the next step beyond Oracle of Worms‘ somewhat generic starting point as their work splits the difference between somewhat technical movement, harder mid-paced death metal grooves and flatly rushed through Swedeath simplicity. The result isn’t always the most inspired ‘old school’ death metal damager but does successfully traverse Necrophobic and Dismember style melodicism (see opener: “Claws of Famine”) alongside the occasional trucked through Bolt Thrower-esque battery (“Cult of Suffering”) on its path toward distinction. “The Script” is the best-representative piece to sum the impact of the first half of the album, one of the more complete and sophisticated arrangements on tap which wheels through the band’s ouevre in a slick yet traditioned path.

The bulk of Side A showcases just how well these folks have managed to dial their directive in while infusing some manner of interest, and despite the nuclear buzz of their main rhythm guitar tone weighing heavily upon the direction taken. Fans of mid-to-late 90’s Fleshcrawl should generally appreciate those pieces up front. Where this debut jumps off-rail for my own taste comes via the hardcorish chunking through “Acolytes”, specifically in its first third. Though there is no great offense incurred within the mid-90’s groove/death metal chug of the piece it acts as a too-loud centerpiece beyond the melodic style developed on the first half. “Valor” remedies this a bit and the floundering unsurety of “Rabid” afterward keeps things interesting but the momentum of the full listen is generally lost in transition from the first half to the second.

The first five or so pieces on the full listen are naturally Oracle of Worms‘ best foot forward. The flow of the record never quite picks back up on its second half and the blackened edge of ‘Cult of Suffering‘ is certainly ramped (“Strychnine Hill”) but without the melodic girding that’d sparked interest to start. The whole deal is somewhat inconsistent in its stylistic development but seemingly pro in execution; What ultimately coheres this collection of songs is the overall presentation and production values wherein general producer, engineer and renderer Simeon Lauber @ The RedTape Company has given the band a crisp, loud and detailed result which features the rhythm section closer to a Dan Swanö sensibility. This allows for a strong sense of propulsion, bringing the bass guitar into legible territory while asserting the two main rhythm guitar channels are the main event. This slots the band’s sound into a well-trod category but also slimes over some of their inconsistently expressed traits (the crustier stuff esp.)

Though the cover art from Alvar Baptist is immediately compelling as an image the busied, surrealistic layout of the album’s frontispiece invokes the unsure yet meticulous self Oracle of Worms are leading with here. No clear visual language is established beyond a glance yet everything is generally pulled from an apropos death metal category, ensuring some immediate interest yet a glom of semi-ambitious ideation is the end result. Though I appreciate both the artwork and the album each nonetheless read as a mash-up built without lucid, planned intent and their collective impact is merely decent. Their work is yet above average in most respects, particularly rife with potential within melodious blackened death metal pieces. A moderately high recommendation.

[Note: CD version released by FDA Records May 22nd, all other versions release in late April]

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