Review: Worm – Necropalace

Review by K

Worm – Necropalace

Record Label: Century Media Records

Year: 2026

Rating: 7.5/10

It’s refreshing to find a band that freely admits to and indeed revels in its various influences without trying to convince the planet that they are something new, something unique. Florida duo Worm, came together in 2012 through their shared love of the  Black Metal documentary, “ Until the Light Takes Us.” They’re a few albums into what is now seemingly a fierce career in making decent, if fairly mad, Black Metal albums.

After a creepy shuddering intro, the album kicks off properly with the 10-minute epic title track. Straightaway, it becomes apparent that this is a difficult band to nail down in terms of identity. As mentioned, their influences are many and varied, and they all shine through during various phases of the track. Overwhelmingly, there’s a feel of Dimmu Borgir in their most Symphonic period, but more vocally dynamic. Everything is present and correct, reverbed spook-piano, minor chord razor-sharp riffing and a rapid-fire battery that’s as relentless as it is accurate.

Worm

“Halls of Weeping” is another 10-minute trip through a melee of varying shades of Black. It’s not particularly quick and gradually slows to a blood-soaked crawl. Wroth ( guitars etc.) displays his musical prowess with some ear-splitting solo work, whilst Phantom (vox) roars a cacophony of nastiness straight between the eyes. Emerging from the pit, the track gathers pace and the grim but well-constructed melodies take over. The production is busy without seeming too cluttered. There are a lot of ideas to pack in, but the band have sensibly taken their time and spread the track(and indeed whole album) out over time.

“The Night has Fangs” is a glorious slab of Heavy Metal, complete with more barre guitar solos and a brilliant mid-paced chugging drum arrangement. The synths have so far been present, if unspectacular, on the album,  but here they are used to a more interesting effect, crawling into the gaps and striking like cobras when needed. The cleverest track so far.

It’s time for a shorter track, but Worm didn’t receive the memo, so instead we now have the 12-minute “Dragon Dreams.” Clearly, the centrepiece of the record, every compass point of Extreme Metal is visited as the track unfurls into a full-blooded epic. There’s creeping dread from the keys, some intricate acoustic picking, some very lovely guitar harmonies, and Wroth’s inevitable Malmsteen-esque solos. Phantom anchors the whole affair with growls and howls of ever-increasing nastiness. The centrepiece of the centrepiece revolves around a CoF-style Symphonic breakdown featuring virtually every “Voice -ahh” preset on the keyboards and some exemplary spooky chanting. Following on comes a remarkably tuneful and hugely satisfying coda that stays with the listener long after the fadeout. That was actually a quick 12 mins..

“Blackheart,” the penultimate track, briefly sweeps into Iron Maiden territory throughout its intro but then settles into another idea-strewn tablet of competent Black Metal. In keeping with the rest of the album, it’s all beautifully done, but at the expense of a bit of spirit. The band has indeed taken on the various mantles of their yesteryear heroes and has very obviously attempted to take all of those ideas and come up with something original of their own. And I’d say they have been mostly, if not fully, successful. It’s a bloody good attempt.

And so to the finale. A 14-minute monster (featuring none other than Marty Friedman) called “Witchmoon: The infernal Masquerade.” Suffice to say it’s big/epic/well constructed/ full of Marty/fast/slow/familiar/familiar/familiar.

That would most likely be the only criticism of this fine album. The ideas are all good ones, and they’re all executed with fine precision. But rather like a new design of fighter jet or supercar, the wings and wheels, although super hi-tech, are all in the same places and do the same job. The themes are all wonderful and very necessary, but could perhaps do with some newer thinking.

But to be honest, that’s a minor criticism. “Necropalace” is a fine album with many, many fine moments. It’s a professional and deadly affair that easily stands out in the scene and with luck, will springboard Worm into higher echelons of the scene. They certainly deserve it.