Wormrot – Dirge (2011)

October 8, 2023

Dirge takes the aural carnage of Abuse and streamlines it into a more focussed, primal grindcore attack. Don’t get me wrong here, Abuse is fucking amazing, but is a little rough around the edges compared to its slightly younger brother, Dirge. Here the production is smoother (without losing any of the “edge” needed for grindcore to work), and the songs hit that extra harder. The band were arguably at their original peak during the release and subsequent cycles of touring for Dirge. I caught them live many times around – and before – Dirge, and whilst the band are stilling going and pushing the boundaries of whatever grindcore music can be, this album is a testament to their “classic” era – to the universal language that is brutal, uncomprising grindcore.