Wormed is a Spanish technical death metal band. Characterized by their heavy use of bizarre time signatures and dissonant chords, as well as the distinctive gurgling vocals of Phlegeton and his very hard sci-fi lyrical themes, they have gained a significant cult following over the years that seems as if it might finally segue into mainstream acceptance.
The band was formed in Madrid in 1998 by J.L. "Phlegeton" Rey (vocals), J. Oliver and Dani (guitars), Guillemoth (bass), and Andres Cobos (drums), the band quickly released the Floating Cadaver in the Monochrome demo, which created a fair bit of buzz that carried over to the Voxel Mitosis single; in spite of Dani's departure and subsequent replacement by Charly, the band maintained their momentum, releasing the Planisphærium full-length in 2003. This was met with near-universal acclaim and was almost instantly hailed as a modern-day classic. In spite of this, however, the band then entered a quiet period with no releases and few live appearances other than the occasional fest thanks to the various other obligations of the band members. It was during this time that Charly and Cobos left; while Charly was quickly replaced by Miguel "Migueloud" Angel, the band was less lucky with their search for a new drummer, and Phlegeton opted to temporarily assume those duties for the recording process of the Quasineutrality single, which was released in 2010. It was not long after that release that they finally found a new drummer in the form of Ricardo "Riky" Mena. It was also sometime around then that they inked a deal with Willowtip Records and began writing for a new album. Said album, Exodromos, was released in 2013 to widespread critical and fanbase acclaim and was viewed as a more-than-worthy successor to Planisphærium. No major touring plans have been announced yet, but it stands to reason that something will happen at some point. After inking a deal with Season of Mist Records in 2014, they began work on their third full-length, Krighsu, which was released on March 18, 2016.
In 2022, Miguel and drummer Gabriel Valcazar officially joined Cancer, who relocated from the UK to Spain some years prior. Their first album with the band is currently being written.
Discography:
- Floating Cadaver in the Monochrome (1999) - demo
- Voxel Mitosis (2001) - single
- Planisphærium (2003)
- Get Drunk or Die Trying: Premature Burial Tour Vol.1 (2004) - split with Goratory and Vomit Remnants
- Quasineutrality (2010) - single
- Exodromos (2013)
- Krighsu (2016)
- Metaportal (2019) (EP)
- Omegon (2024)
This band contains examples of the following tropes:
- Concept Album: Exodromos
- Brutal Death Metal: Borders on slam at some points, but not enough to actually be slam.
- Genre Mashup: Fuses elements of brutal death, tech death, slam, progressive rock, mathcore, noise rock, ambient, and free jazz. Best described as the natural result of Devourment, Malignancy, Voivod, King Crimson, Helmet, and Aphex Twin having an orgy.
- Harsh Vocals: A blend between pig squeals and alien-like gurgles/inhales.
- I Am the Band: Phlegeton
- Indecipherable Lyrics: Phlegeton's vocals are notoriously difficult to discern.
- Miniscule Rocking: "Darkflow Quadrivium"
- Progressive Metal: Elements of this, particularly on Exodromos.
- Signature Style: Lots and lots of weird time signatures, dissonant chords, Phlegeton's distinctive mechanical-sounding gurgles, and the occasional slam, all topped with frequent atmospheric overtones and occasional ambient passages.
- Special Guest: Phlegeton has served as this here and there, most notably for Aborted.
- Technical Death Metal: Less on the "weedly" side and more on the "dissonant" side.
- Techno Babble: Fairly common in their early material thanks to Phlegeton's less-than-stellar English.
- Uncommon Time: Part of their Signature Style.
