Interview - WORM

See here for an introduction to Worm.

Main man Phantom Slaughter answered these questions.

1. Gloomlord is an incredible album, how has the response been so far?

I really don't try to go out of my way to know what people think as I see my work as being done once I give the label the album and it is not my experience anymore, but quite a few people have been interested in interviewing the band this time around and that is something of a new experience for me. I think it is a natural growth, I have just been getting better at my craft I feel with every release so it is only right that it gets out to more people every time around. I know this album was a big deal for me because it was the first I recorded in an actual local studio instead of in my home rehearsal space called "The Swamp Crypt". I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and see what would come of it. Worm does not have any social media so I really do not have a direct link of communication with people interested in the band outside of what pops up in my email and the new Worm PO box. I have always viewed Worm as an underdog band that you can find if you wander in the fog long enough.

2. Your sound is really quite unique, how would you describe the album?

When speaking of sound I think it is always good to look at the beginning of the band. I started out as a one man black metal band as I knew no one around who was into any type of extreme metal or was interested in playing it for that matter. So Worm will always have an obscure and occult black metal foundation no matter what I do. It is in my DNA and I can't shake it off no matter what. There will always be pieces of it in everything I do. It just so happens that through the years I have grown a love for doom-orientated extreme metal. I can thank Tom G Warrior for that. This time around I was really into death-doom and more specifically funeral doom. Mix that with the humid Floridian ancient marshlands as well as Sumerian/Lovecraftian concepts and you have Gloomlord. 

3. What inspired the stylistic shift for this one; and can we expect more Gloomlord-type material or more significant style-changes from you in the future?

As stated above, funeral doom; mainly all I had to hear was Disembowelment - Transcendence Into The Peripheral as well as Thergothon - Stream From The Heavens, and my life was changed instantly. Those albums are big factors in achieving the sound I wanted. They have these eerie and ancient melodies while remaining equally terrifying. There is something almost aquatic about Disembowelment to me, and that really conjures the sort of imagery that appeals to me as well as makes sense to the natural settings I find myself in from time to time being from Florida. At this point the next release could go in a number of different places stylistically, but of course a natural progression from Gloomlord is one of them. I am currently writing as many riffs as I can until lightning strikes and I have a definite idea or concept that calls to me. 

4. Who are your main influences, if indeed you feel you have influences?

Disembowelment, Thergothon, Skepticism, Abhorrence, Unholy, Rottrevore, Infester, Gorement, Rippikoulu, Imprecation, Eternal Darkness, Symphony of Grief, Winter, Worship, Deteriorot, Demigod, Morpheus Descends, the list goes on. I was also enamoured with early Finnish death metal while recording this. At this moment I am really studying UK death-doom. Just got My Dying Bride - As The Flower Withers as well as Anathema - The Crestfallen EP on LP. A shame both bands changed drastically after. 

5. Who did the artwork for the album? It's very fitting.

My good friend Yuri Kahan. I had been looking at his art for quite some time and finally saved some cash to commission him. I had a concept in mind and he completely made it come to life, probably even better than I had imagined. I am quite picky when it comes to visuals for Worm and I am grateful for his patience. He also revamped the Worm logo. I was quite pleased with the way everything came out. Certainly the best cover Worm has ever had in my eyes. Look at the Infester - To The Depths, In Degradation cover and see if you can spot similarities. 

6. Are there many extreme metal bands in Florida these days? What is 'the scene' like there now?

I actually don't know of any other bands around, there is no scene in my city just terrible music and materialistic people. It is quite strange as Florida to me is the birthplace of death metal. Chuck was certainly a pioneer and he is someone I look up to in everything I do. I spend my days in heavily forested areas and swamp trails when I am not making music or at the soul-crushing day job.

7. Do you have any future plans that you can share with us?

I am currently in talks for making a split with a Philadelphia band called Blood Spore, as well as piecing out new songs for the next Worm album. Trying to release both by late summer. 

More interviews: Frozen Soul / Sanguisugabogg / Darkened / Void Rot / Malignant Altar / Graceless / Necronomicon / Antichrist / Dysylumn / Evoken / Ov Shadows / Morast / Assumption / Scour / Spectral Voice / Morta Skuld / Solothus / Memoriam / Ataraxy / Soulskinner / Necrot