Wormphlegm - Tomb of the Ancient King (2006)

   Wormphlegm's full-length debut "Tomb of the Ancient King" earned cultic status in the past several years, and some even looking at this record as a subgenre renewing milestone. Or as the basics of a newly formed subgenre related to funeral doom. Both might be quite debatable statements, and most probably shouldn't be taken more seriously than the ordinary deep desire for creating or discovering something new that nobody has done before.
   First of all, Wormphlegm should be taken as an experimental band, and despite their music is quite difficult to go into, it's important to not forget that not all experiments are ending up as something great. In fact, most experiments does not, that's why they are experiments. The band's first release was a demo given the gag title "In an Excruciating Way Infested with Vermin and Violated by Executioners Who Practise Incendiarism and Desanctifying the Pious". The very relatable feeling, so to say. The demo was closer to funeral doom basics than the "Tomb of the Ancient King", but already had experimental ambitions. The leading role was kinda equally shared between funeral doom and strongly atmospheric blackened influences. But since the whole demo is just one more than half hour long song, the listener's patience and nerves are already getting put to the trial. On the full-length, the atmosphere takes over and basically its endless extension could be mainly found responsible for the 1 hour long duration of total 3 songs. Meanwhile, similar to depressive black metal or to drone metal, instrumentally not much is happening, but at least the demo quality effects and the tormented shrieks making the whole thing hard to go into. It's also important to note, that if a music is difficult to listen to, that's not necessarily the proof of its heaviness. Especially in this case, when the thick atmosphere, strong echoing effects and the demo-like quality basically almost completely neutralizing the heaviness of the remained funeral doom features. And it's a natural outcome in this case of style merging. It's fine as an extensive sound check in the rehearsal rooms with some experimenting improvisations, but it's still just minimal effort. "Tomb of the Ancient King" might be enjoyable for the fans of depressive black and atmospheric funeral doom.