Wormwood (Sweden): “Nattarvet”

Wormwood is a Swedish band from Stockholm that I have already mentioned many times in these pages (and interviewed). I have practically followed this band since their formation in 2014: Wormwood has evolved a lot during this period of activity, from the punk / black'n roll of the beginning to the atmospheric melodic black metal delivered in their beautiful brand new album Nattarvet. It is a concept album based on a precise event in Swedish history, namely the great emigration from Sweden to America of the 19th-century due to famines and bad harvests. From a compositional point of view Nattarvet is a magnificent and superb album; the four lads from Stockholm show that they have completed an exceptional maturation process. I would say that the biggest novelty is long, complex, airy, almost psychedelic sections in clean guitars; but it is not only that: the arrangement capacity is astounding and everything is thought-out, nothing is done by chance. As said above, the composition level is high and is not for everyone. Someone might say that Nattarvet is verbose and repetitive: each song contains its long clean psychedelic part, which makes the structure of the songs a repeated pattern. On the other hand, this is an album to listen to not only with the ears but with all the senses, you should close your eyes and let yourself be carried away by the atmospheres created by Wormwood. The recording and the sounds are inevitably very polished and crystal-clear as befits this album, it is the only logical choice for the chosen genre. In conclusion, a magnificent album, not much to say.
 
Notes:
Nattarvet was released on July 26, 2019 through Black Lodge Records.
 
Personnel:
D.Johansson: Drums
T.Rydsheim: Guitars
J.Engström: Guitars, Bass, Keyboards
Nine: Vocals
 
Text by Herjann
herjann@unholyblackmetal.com