We here at the Harsh Vocals website and corresponding podcast are HUGE fans of Antoine Scholtes and his work with his Black Metal project, Inherits the Void. When we were contacted about providing a review for this new Melodic Death Metal project, Wurmian, we were more than happy to do so. We received the promo about a month ago and I purposely waited until its release day to post the review. I am also a reader of reviews from other sites, and there is nothing I hate more than reading a review and getting excited about hearing it, and then finding out it is not going to be released for a long time before I can check it out. I can almost guarantee with the amount of music being released on a weekly basis, I will almost always completely forget about the album. Well kids, the time is here for this album to be released and if you are into the more extreme metal genres that we focus on here at Harsh Vocals, run, don’t walk, to check out this album and then throw down some money and purchase the vinyl! You will be glad you did.
This album is an incredible foray into the Melodic Death Metal genre with plenty of doomy moments to round everything out. You can definitely hear some similarities in the songwriting with Antoine’s other band (Inherits the Void) but this is not a death/doom version of that band. This is definitely its own thing. I hear some Katatonia influences, along with a bit of Novembers Doom, as well as quite a bit of early In Flames. Over the course of seven tracks, Wurmian creates an immersive, melancholic soundscape that has incredibly haunting melodies with some seriously heavy-ass doom-laden riffs.
The album kicks off with “Aeon Afterglow” a song that immediately sets the tone with somber sounding clean guitar lines before kicking off the heavy riff work. It does a great job of capturing that balance between melody and heaviness the Melodic Death Metal is known for. Track two is the title track and this continues that journey but adds more weight in the atmosphere as Scholtes’ growls echo over the music, creating such intense moments of sorrow that add yet another dimension.
One of my favorite songs on the album is the song “Haven”, as it does such a great job of fusing the energy of Melodic Death Metal with the more introspective riffing you find in a lot of Doom Metal (or at least in the Doom Metal I prefer). The guitar leads cut through those gloomy riffs bringing a sense of hope with an almost cinematic type feel. It’s the type of song that you will think about even after it is done playing. It is beautiful while still having a sense of weight that will stick with you long after the song is done. I think this could be one of the best songs Antoine has ever written.
“Sleeping Giants” comes in at track 6 and adds a new wrinkle with the addition of symphonic elements mixing into the sound. This adds even more depth to an album that is already quite multifaceted, but it seems Antoine refuses to make things easy on himself and adds even more depth to the already expansive sound. This adds an incredible amount of atmosphere and gives the listener the sense of being on a musical journey that takes you through vast and desolate landscapes.
The album closes with “The Everflowing Stream”, and I can’t help but think this could be Antoine’s nod and appreciation to the pioneers of Melodic Death Metal – In Flames and Dark Tranquillity. The intricate and intense guitar work makes for a spectacular ending to a truly fantastic debut. “Immemorial Shrine” is a record packed with such heaviness, atmosphere and raw emotion that it will undoubtedly resonate with fans of both classic and modern Melodic Death and Doom Metal. I can’t recommend this highly enough, and I am very much hoping we see a vinyl release and don’t get screwed by all these crazy tariffs. I would love to sit back in my vinyl listening area and just let this album wash over me. I’m sure this is an album that would translate particularly well to vinyl.
Support Wurmian on Bandcamp here: https://wurmian.bandcamp.com/album/immemorial-shrine
Check out the full album on Spotify below:
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