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Wormrot > Dirge > 2011, 12" vinyl, Earache Records (5 colors, Limited edition) > Reviews
Wormrot - Dirge

Growing strong - 95%

felixrr, January 31st, 2023
Written based on this version: 2022, CD, Earache Records

Just two years after Abuse, Wormrot took everything that worked, and worked on it some more. This is the result.

After a brief drone intro, the listener is catapulted into absolute grindcore mayhem that spans mere 18 minutes, and since the band manages to vomit out 25 songs in this time, anything over a minute is of great rarity here. The majority of the record consists of blink-and-they're-gone pieces of absolute madness, interwoven with "longer", more structured tracks, driven by groovy riffs. Heaps upon heaps of contagious energy and brutality is all I can think of for the rest of this section.

Since I've already mentioned the riffs, let's start with Rasyid. He draws from a wide palette, and whether it's pure grind, thrash, death or powerviolence, it works every time and never feels out of place in a particular track. His speed is varied, with many tempo changes even throughout the short tracks; the fast and furious, as well as the slower and groovy sections hit hard. Fitri's drumming complements this perfectly, with all sorts of beats, fills, rolls and whatever you call it. As for Arif, I have a really hard time finding anything to criticize this time around. He sounds positively pissed off 100% of the time, never stopping to catch his breath. On this record in particular he really reminds me of the singer from Insect Warfare (that's a good thing). The lyrics are a step forward, too, with more political and social comments. At times, tongue remains firmly in cheek, like on the hilarious Butt Krieg Is Showing.

Having described all of this, the last letdown could have been the production and/or the overall image. And that's exactly what… didn't end up happening. The final recording oozes unadulterated, organic brutality, with a perfect amount of distortion and separation to still know what the hell is going on. Heck, even the front cover shows that the band did not step down on their follow up to the great start that was Abuse. If you're a grind fan and haven't heard this yet, go fix that right now!

Wormrot- Dirge - 95%

Twin_guitar_attack, April 4th, 2014

Dirge is the second album from Singaporean grindcore band Wormrot, released back in 2011, and it’s an excellent vitriolic follow up to their previous album Abuse.

The oldschool grindcore sound is strong in Wormrot’s music, but they have a huge dose of individuality which really stands them out from the crowd. With a real hardcore influence to their music, vocalist Arif’s voice is excellent, shrieking and barking in equal measure with huge energy, and even with an intense performance the angry, pissed off lyrics are easy to make out compared to most grindcore artists. It’s a powerful performance, violent and angry, with lyrics to match, aggressive and pissed off – from the politically charged assaults, to bursts of pure hatred, the lyrics here are great. The riffs on the album are brilliant, and with a huge, grinding guitar tone, the album rarely breaks out of top speed, with cutting, ferocious buzzsaw riffs making up most of the playing, but when the slower groovier riffs come in, it makes them all the better. The playing is great here, with lots of varied riffs ensuring that each of the 25 songs doesn’t come close to running into the next. Perhaps the star of the show though is the drumming. Blasting away in true grind style, but with excellent varied fills and interesting ideas throughout, it’s a supreme performance, taking as much from hardcore as it does from grindcore, with tons of drum rolls really adding to the energy of the track. Without relying solely on blastbeats, it makes it all the better to hear such a varied and interesting approach.

Principle of Puppet Warfare is by far the best track here, with a short intro, before bursting into Arif’s vocal assault, and incredibly brutal drumming, it’s a 40 second piece of grindcore brilliance. That’s not to disparage the rest of the album though, the songwriting is strong through0ut, as said earlier, the tracks all have their own unique vibe, something a lot of grindcore albums lack. With 25 songs in 18 minutes, the album is short, sweet, but very complete. It’s the perfect length, and a very original album, while retaining all that makes grindcore so good.

A lot of people prefer their debut album Abuse, and while it’s a great album, Dirge just edges it in my mind, it’s just consistently brilliant. When and if we get another Wormrot album remains to be seen, but hopefully another will see the light of day soon enough, Wormrot are too big and exciting a force not to. If you like your grindcore intensely pissed off and vitriolic, with a powerful hardcore leaning edge, then Wormrot are the band for you.

Originally written for swirlsofnoise.com

A Grinding Opus - 95%

shouvince, July 30th, 2012

Wormrot maybe on a hiatus right now but boy have they left us with a huge chunk of wholesome delicious grindcore to play around with. ‘Dirge’ is the band’s sophomore full length effort. Personally for me though, it is the first album of theirs that has really gotten me into this trio’s brand of music. It’s an eighteen minute aural assault which I have been listening to on my ride between home and work for many days. So how did Wormrot catapult themselves to world-wide recognition? I think it’s the mass appeal to the fans of the genre and ‘Dirge’ most certainly places them as one of the choicest flag bearers of this sub-community.

The band dives into the album in a purposeful dreary manner and while the ensuing wait lasts a good thirty seconds, the tempo quickly picks up with the second track ‘Compulsive Disposition’. The album is nicely balanced with songs which range from grinding tracks that serve as walls of sound to groovy guitar-driven forty second anthems. Arif, the vocalist, brings in three different vocal styles into the record with his screeches, guttural growls and decipherable screams. This can be clearly heard on the track ‘Butt Krieg is Showing’. Rasyid’s simple yet effective guitar riffs make for this album to be such a delight to listen to. This is again demonstrated in tracks like ‘Principle of Puppet Warfare’ and ‘Manipulation’. While the guitar riffs may sound simple, it’s the coupling with Fit’s drums which makes all these songs so unique and memorable. One might ask - memorable in grindcore? It does. The duo weaves through each of the songs with the tempo changes, leaving the listener with no choice but to be alert throughout the eighteen minutes. Fit, in my opinion, is the backbone of the band. His drumming is impeccable and ferocious. He seemed like a diminutive man behind the kit but when I saw them live earlier this year, he replicated everything on the record to the live performance. That is when I appreciated his skill and perseverance even more.

There is a four second song titled ‘You suffer but why is it my problem’. It seems very tongue in cheek with reference to Napalm Death’s ‘You Suffer’. There is no source citing a connection but I just found it a little hilarious. The album closes with two of the longer songs - ‘A Dead Issue’ and ‘The Final Insult’. Both songs are equipped with a battery of pounding guitar riffs and their characteristic and very well placed tempo changes.

An important feature about this album that I love is that it is well produced without being too polished. It invokes a feeling of being present at the band’s live show, which I believe any self-respecting band in this genre aims for. I highly recommend this album to any metalhead who loves fast no nonsense music and who also has an inclination towards groove. I rate this album as one of my favourite grind/grindcore albums of all time and I look forward to what Wormrot has to offer us in the future.

Fast, loud and ridiculously violent - 90%

730, February 2nd, 2012

Fans of fast music will be familiar with the feeling you should get when listening to grindcore and powerviolence - that vicelike grasp on your testicles, dragging you forward and compelling you to move no matter your current mindset or situation.

Wormrot's sophomore effort, Dirge, initially passed under my radar for some reason, and must say, I am kicking myself for those months lost in sloth when I could have been running into walls or circlepitting alone in my living room. This album is the embodiment of all things fast, loud and ridiculously violent.

Wormrot hail from Singapore and play a modern style of grindcore, with nods to all the old classics. Their first album - Abuse - was a thrashy, fun affair with violence aplenty. This time, they've subtly slipped some powerviolence-esque tempo changes and structures into the mix, with the result being the most raging release I've heard all year. Imagine Kill The Client and Magrudergrind hyped up on amphetamines in a no-holds-barred cage match and you'll have some idea of just how fucking insane Dirge is. The band consists of a guitarist, vocalist and drummer, and to be honest, you don't notice the lack of bass at all because the riffs are so ridiculously well-written and infectious. The vocalist belts out shrieks, grunts and everything in between at the drop of a pin. The drummer knows when to blast and when to groove and keeps the intensity well above recommended levels. All 25 songs pass by in the fastest 18 minutes you're ever likely to hear, with the only moments of respite being the opening and closing tracks. Dirge sounds excellent, the instruments and vocals are very well-balanced but everything still sounds extremely raw - the aural equivalent of a rusty hacksaw.


Anyway, this is the most intense album I've heard in a long time. If you're into any kind of grindcore, do yourself a favor and pick Dirge up. You can thank me later once you're able to move again. - James Frigge

Originally published by http://halifaxcollect.blogspot.com

Massive Blast - 95%

IxI_KILLING, June 22nd, 2011

Deep within the jungles of Singapore dwells a beast that no human dares to question or fight. Wormrot has been slaughtering the grindcore scene since 2007 when they released the “Dead” EP, going on later to release the first full-length “Abuse” in 2009. In 2011, they bless us with a short but very accurate record full-length, “Dirge”. Some have complained that this record is far too short to be considered a full-length, what do you guys expect from a band that is doing everything correctly when it comes to playing grindcore? Wormrot is one of the few bands that never seem to let me down, they stay true to the roots of what they play and understand that the records they release make very large statements, “Dirge” is no different.

Wormrot makes it very well known that they don’t give a shit what you think of the music they play or what you support in the music scene. Opening the record up with a track titled “No One Gives A Shit”, it’s similar to that tour of Hell right before you get your final seat and get to watch the show. “Dirge” is the one album that I was sort of ready to hear but I didn’t want it to disappoint me in the end. When Wormrot released “Abuse” a couple years back, it was a great record that I still spin to this day but the riffs went in a different direction than I was hoping. “Dirge” completely filled me up with intense, non-stop, no filter or bullshit. Covering 25 tracks in only 18 minutes, Wormrot is still on track to becoming one of the greatest grind outfits I’ve ever listened to. Fit, the drummer, is the busiest on the record but only because the songs are just a full on typhoon of double-pedals, blast beats and chaos. The drumming is what makes this record, in my opinion but Rasyid is very close to taking over the throne with the riffs he put on this record. Most of the riffs are in the grind field but you can tell he listens to everything from Death, early Morbid Angel to Blood for Blood, Fucked Up and even a small bit of Municipal Waste and Witchery. The elements of hardcore punk and thrash are essential to grind, mainly for the fact that it was spawned off those two genres. “A Dead Issue” is a track that gives you more of that death metal feel with it’s open palm riffs but also gives you that grind/hardcore punk feel near the end. On the other hand, the last track “The Final Insult”, is nothing but a thrash heavy, balls to the wall onslaught, it’s also the only instrumental track on the record. The vocal work is phenomenal, the work that Arif does on the record is brilliant in so many ways. If you dig the vocals by Rahi from Insect Warfare, you’ll dig what this album has to offer vocal wise. “Dirge” also has another element that most seem to miss or not understand, the fact that it’s a real grindcore release. When I want grindcore, I don’t want a record that lasts nearly 30 or 40 minutes, that just doesn’t cut it. I never want 2 minute songs on a grindcore release, ever. Wormrot has perfected the way a grindcore release should be with “Dirge”, not just perfected it but made a statement that other grind bands need to study and learn. With this record having 25 tracks and each one being no longer than a minute, it’s sort of hard to pinpoint which track is which but Wormrot does a very nice job at transitioning the flow of the record. It’s not all mashed together, it’s timed correctly so you know when one track is over and the next is starting. Wormrot - Singapore’s unsung heroes that have been in my top 5 bands of all-time since the release of “Dead” back in 2007.

The government can take my freedom, they can take my house and they can take my dreams and hopes but if they take Wormrot from me, death shall be brought to the doorstep of God himself. Since I’ve had this record, it’s been played well over two hundred and that number will keep rising because I simply love me some Wormrot on any day with a side of guts and brains.

Originally written for: http://bloodorlove.domesticgenocide.com/