Three years after their deep dive into the mythology of the original 1984 Ghostbusters film with the album “Gozer”, the Los Angeles duo WHIPWORM returned with yet another concept record. This time multi-instrumentalist and singer Travis Weinand (Tetsuo, Burden, Muffin, Titan) and drummer David Ferrara (Qaalm, ex-Cemetery) reflect on a story with similarities to “The One” with Jet Li, in which a larger version of the protagonist, seemingly from another space and time, comes into contact with him…
Haunted, icy keys send a chill down the spine as they rise from the depths of the catacombs to present “Letters From The Dead” — a Death Thrash track with savage unclean vocals from Weinand that interweave with spoken word parts to chemically reinforce the threatening atmosphere. The technically oriented guitars are complemented by top-tier percussion, with Weinand proving his skills as a storyteller through six and a half gripping minutes of mid-tempo intensity. His guitar work is just as impressive as his vocals — staccato riff breaks, a heavy breakdown and some chilling bends all play their part in creating a powerful statement piece.
“Anamnesis” comes next with aromas of The Black Dahlia Murder ‘Nightbringers’ era, and the increased tempo allows some bursts of blast beats from Ferrara that work excellently. There’s more hunger in the vocals here as the story’s protagonist questions his sanity, hears voices in his head, suffers from memories that aren’t his own and hears a call from the void. The keys create a bewitching moment that touches the edges of the cinematic before the brutal finale that simply must be heard to be believed.
There’s a sense of the theatrical with the spoken word parts of “The Teeth Beneath” as Whipworm experiment with off-kilter melodies that interweave with heavy Death Metal passages — Weinand displays a vocal range that leaves you stunned as he creates a multitude of voices to keep us on alert. They literally go from the sublime to the absurd over punishing riffs; this one here flirts with Progressive Technical Death Metal time signatures to deliver some moments that break you in two. Then comes the fretboard-burning solo over majestic riff breaks and you get something that seems to come out of the mind of someone like Devin Townsend. And the spoken word parts sound like Philip Anselmo.
“Council Of The Nine” sounds like Revocation on an overdose — lightning speed and laser precision with subtle avant-garde moments and yet another bewitching solo that hits like a fist without warning and leaves you wondering what you just heard. The riffs are razor-sharp with at least two guitar layers and characteristic 90s qualities — an explosion of Morbid Angel magic that evolves into Alice In Chains-like vocal harmonies in an impressive way. Things that in theory shouldn’t work together suddenly work in this brave new world — Whipworm devoted time and energy to realizing their vision and it paid off handsomely.
“Eidolon” gathers everything as a track that has all the elements at its disposal — eccentric chilling moments that turn to dust at the hands of their serrated counterparts, the rhythm guitars are exactly what you want to raise the pulse. There’s still room for some little whammy bar moments during the frenzied final passage as the extremities within the sound keep pushing in both directions. A macabre dance of piano and orchestral, the title track “Death Beyond” is a dark story that bleeds theatricality — the guitars enter in the last third in a destructive way. A masterclass of storytelling delivered with charm, vividness and swagger — this is a stunning piece of the highest order. Some may see it as a risk but in reality it’s refreshing to hear a band expand its horizons with something that works on the dynamics of the story. Bravo!
Tracklist:
01. Letters From The Dead
02. Anamnesis
03. The Teeth Beneath
04. The Council of The Nine
05. Eidolon
06. Death Beyond
OFFICIAL LINKS
