Band:	Scald (UK)
Album:	Vermiculatus
Style:	Grindcore, Sludge metal
Release date:	2006

01. Vermiculatus

This is one seriously damaged work of art to say the least; this album might be one of the most disturbing experiences I've had this year (and I thought Stalaggh was sickening). "Vermiculatus" is one of those albums that will haunt your dreams for its eclectic dissonance and methodical irony; the intriguing factor will keep your ears near the speakers and the eerie sounds will make you want to run as fast as you can.

There are some albums that are enjoyable only if you're doing something else (let's say organizing your stack of porn for example) and there are albums that need your attention from the beginning to the end. Scald successfully created a compelling mix of both kinds; "Vermiculatus" can be dissected in two halves, the first one embodies the musical skills of these Irish brains, the second one becomes an ambient-noise hiatus ala Objekt 4, Stalaggh, and Merzbow with creepier approaches (I'll talk about this later in the review)

The first half-hour goes by marvelously; I can't get enough of the music found in this record. Scald attacks the listener with one of the most solid Post-Metal assaults in the scene; this half narrates uncanny music indefinitely, it gathers an imprecise number of influences and styles creating an eclectic musical mixture. The mix of genres is almost undeniably infinite, yet the tight execution makes it easy on the ear. So much for the "musical" department, it's really original, it's intricate, it's aggressive, and it's fucking mind-blowing; but the next branch it's even more complicated.

The ambient-noise part it's really hard to digest; at first it sounds like a mild face of Merzbow, but once you toss this CD in your computer you'll see things differently as I did. The noisy side it's accompanied by a short-film?a very, VERY disturbing short-film; it's all about worms conceiving humans and worms fucking up with humans and all things "worm". The clip manages to keep you aware even though the imagery becomes really raw at times; anyway, this short-film makes the ambient-noise segment slightly "bearable" (as the video itself it's quite disconcerting as well), and in the end this thing will only enhance your experience with "Vermiculatus" in a very awry way.

You need to hear this album to know how "conceptually twisted "sounds like; the music part it's incredibly worthwhile, and even though the noise segment takes some re-playable values off of this disc, "Vermiculatus" is still a magnificent piece from this year's roster.

Best Tracks: lol