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WORMPOST #384
 Last week we visited the shadowy woods of North Carolina. Well, this week we plunge into the Mines of Moria to sample the dwarven death metal of KHAZADDUM! This raging Milwaukee band is exploring the fabulous worlds of J.R.R. TOLKIEN, particularly the stout and fearless dwarves. I talk to LUKA DJORDEVIC about the very detailed and serious connection between Khazaddum and the bearded warrior folk. Lots of fun for Tolkien fans! While we're at it, we also look at Luka's other band, the grim black metallers PREZIR! Hoist a tankard of mead and descend with us into the depths of Moria HERE! The pace is slower around Wormwood these days, but I am working hard to keep things interesting. Hope to have some announcements soon. In the meantime, get ready for my look at the cult horror film "THE ASPHYX" and a live review of this years WACKEN festival! Now for a real eclectic version of the Torture Chamber. Even thought you'd see SUFFOCATION and CHEAP TRICK sharing space?! SUFFOCATION "...Of The Dark Light" LIMBONIC ART "Spectre Abysme" CHEAP TRICK "We're All Alright" SCANNER (us) "Under the Devil's Tail" CHASTAIN "We Bleed Metal 17" PHYLACTERY "Necromancy Enthroned" |
WORMPOST #383
 A little bit behind in this update, but now back on track. The backwoods of the American South produce some fire and brimstone preaching...but sometimes the result is the opposite of what you'd expect. North Carolina occult metal band DEMON EYE takes that fiery preaching and turns it on its head. Our own country boy LORD RANDALL managed to head into the North Carolina hills to grab an interview with Demon Eye main man ERIK SUGG, who speaks about his upbringing and the influence on his music. It's pretty interesting reading, which you can sample HERE! Some pretty heavy and brutish prisoners awake in this week's edition of the TORTURE CHAMBER! GOATWHORE "Vengeful Ascension" UNDERGANG "Misanthropologi" ALESTORM "No Grave But The Sea" KHAZADDUM "Plagues Upon Arda" PREZIR "Contempt" |
WORMPOST #382
 COUNT DOWN TO ZERO WITH PRONG'S TOMMY VICTOR! PRONG and its mastermind TOMMY VICTOR have been part of heavy music history for 30+ years so it's an honor to welcome them to the pages of Wormwood. Rarely have I spoken to such an interesting and thoughtful man as Tommy. In this interview, we talk about all manner of subjects with brutal honesty...the meaning of the new "Zero Days" record, the craziness of political correctness, the overwhelming presence of noise in daily life...and a whole lot more! Even if you don't know that much about Prong, this is a real intriguing conversation and one of the best I've had over the almost 20 year course of Wormwood. Find out what I'm talking about by clicking HERE! Another strong edition of the Torture Chamber is also on tap this week, including a review of the previously mentioned "Zero Days" and a lot of other good stuff! GOD DETHRONED "The World Ablaze" PRONG "Zero Days" WARRANT "Louder, Harder, Faster" SACRIFICIAL SLAUGHTER "Generation of Terror" AVERSIO HUMANITATIS "Longing For The Untold" M.O.D. "Busted, Broke & American" QRIXKUOR "Incantations From The Abyss" |
WORMPOST #381
 EXPERIENCE THE MADNESS OF MADROST! Our travels take us this week to sunny Southern California, where we encounter a relatively new band taking the area by storm...MADROST! These guys play a kind of classical "thinking man's death metal" full of clever time changes and rocksolid riffs. I was so impressed by their recent effort "The Essence of Time Matches No Flesh" that I immediately got a hold of vocalist/guitarist TANNER POPPIT for a chat. He had some surprising answers for me, which you can read HERE. After a week with no updates, we've got some powerful new entries in the Wormwood Torture Chamber this time around! DYING FETUS "Wrong One To Fuck With" BEASTMAKER "Inside The Skull" ICED EARTH "Incorruptible" DECAPITATED "Anticult" FOSCOR "Les Irreals Vision" ENISUM "Seasons of Desolation" |
WORMPOST #380
 SUBMIT TO DECAY WITH NECROT! One of the newer bands helping to keep the tradiition of grisly death metal alive is NECROT from Oakland, California. These guys are stirring up seven kinds of holy hell with their traditional and sickening take on death, which you can hear nowhere better than their new album "Blood Offerings". Being an aficianado of all things macabre, I naturally sought an audience with them and wound up talking to LUCA INDRIO, who was all too happy to tell me about his love for all things raw and disgusting. You can share our passion for death and decay by checking out the interview I did HERE. Wormwood Chronicles is going to be updated on a much more infrequent basis than usual, but we still have some goodies up our sleeves. I'm very excited about the interview I conducted today with TOMMY VICTOR of veteran headbangers PRONG. This wound up being a really enjoyable and stimulating discussion on all kinds of subjects. So that's something to whet your appetite. Also working on a couple of other possible chats and should be able to tell you more about them in the next Wormpost. Here's the latest Torture Chamber, heavy on reviews from me and also featuring SGT. DETH's review of the new LIFE OF AGONY! LIFE OF AGONY "A Place Where There's No More Pain" NIGHT DEMON "Darkness Remains" PAGANIZER "Land of Weeping Souls" URSINNE "Swimming With the Leviathan" EWIGKEIT "Cosmic Man" NUCLEAR OATH "Toxic Playground" HERESIARCH "Death Ordinance" |
WORMPOST #379
 TIME TO GET CRUSHED BY MORTA SKULD! Take a trip with me to the land of beer and Jeffrey Dahmer as I hook up with Milwaukee's heaviest band MORTA SKULD and interview their founding member DAVE GREGOR. This ultra-heavy band has had quite a spotted history but have managed to survive in a tough business. Dave tells us about the history of the band, memorable moments of the Milwaukee metal scene and their new devastating album "Wounds Deeper Than Time". This should be of special interest to Wisconsin metal fans. You can get wounded right HERE. Yes, Wormwood will continue. Should be able to spill the beans on a couple of new interviews soon. I will also be doing an exclusive feature on what many call the most morbid film ever made, the cult English horror hit "THE ASPHYX". Stick around to learn more.... Quite a wide ranging Torture Chamber this week, even by Wormwood standards! THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA "Amber Galactic" NECROT "Blood Offerings" STRANGE KARMA "Cold Blooded" MY REGIME "Deranged Patterns" KHOST "Governance" |
WORMPOST #378
 AN INTERVIEW WITH WISHBONE ASH AND IMPORTANT NEWS ABOUT WORMWOOD'S FUTURE This week we're pleased to present an interview with a truly legendary band in rock history, Britain's renowned WISHBONE ASH! DARK STARR has the honor of speaking to founding member ANDY POWELL about what the band is up to today and thoughts on their past. The chat is brief but pointed and you can check it out HERE! Now some news about the future of Wormwood itself. I have a new job that has been working me with 12 hr shifts all across the board and it was making it virtually impossible to keep up with the website on both editing and writing. After doing 28 hrs in a 48 hr span, I broke a gasket and negotiated for more reasonable hours. So I think that the site will continue although it will probably be at a reduced pace unless we can get new writers or other folks can pick up the pace. I don't want the quality to fade too much, but it's tough giving up something you've done for almost 20 years! So you will still see the best in underground culture here at Wormwood Laboratories but maybe not quite as much. I urge you Worm-fiends to check in here every week for updates! Now time to unleash the mystical mayhem of the Torture Chamber! THE RUINS OF BEVERAST "Exuvia" NITROGODS "Roadkill BBQ" AVATARIUM "Hurricanes and Halos" NECROWRETCH "Satanic Slavery" LO-RUHAMAH "Anointing" JUPITER HOLLOW "Odyssey" |
WORMPOST #377
 GET DESTROYED BY DESTRUCTOR; SOME BIG NEWS They called Cleveland the "Mistake By the Lake", but when it comes to metal, it's a different story. No Cleveland band has a more storied history than DESTRUCTOR and this week I get to talk to the band's voice, the maniacal DAVE OVERKILL! We find out why the band's future has never been brighter despite major disasters in the past including the untimely passing of a key member. We also get the dirt on the new Destructor album "Decibel Casualties", which might just the best thing they've ever done. Slap on your armor and prepare to go into battle HERE! Now some important news. Wormwood Chronicles has been going in one form or another for 19 years now. I've had some major changes in my life situation recently and it is becoming very difficult to keep the zine going at the same level of quality I expect. I am thinking about possible putting an end to the zine. Making it to 20 years would be nice but the choice may not be mine. It would be nice if I didn't have to do 75% of everything on my own. I need to think about this pretty hard. Even if I put a stop to WC, there's enough material to keep things going for a while. I will get back to you on this. In the meantime, here's the Torture Chamber for this week... VOMIT REMNANTS "Hyper Groove Brutality" DESTRUCTOR "Decibel Casualties" NIGHT RANGER "Don't Let Up" DODECAHEDRON "Kwintessens" HAWKWIND "Into the Woods" CONTAMINATED "Final Man" |
WORMPOST #376
 MEET THE SIMIAN SHREDDERS APESHIFTER! DARK STARR recently traveled to the Planet of the Apes to speak to the most renowned band there, APESHIFTER! Specifically, he talked to axemaster JEFF AUG about the origin and philosophy of this killer instrumental rock band that straddles the lines between stoner, prog and pure shredding. Mr. Aug was quite witty with his responses and was a very interesting primate to talk to. Find out why these guys are causing a stir....read the interview! Mr. Starr has been pretty busy lately. He tells me he just grabbed an interview with one of the most influential British hard rock bands of all time, WISHBONE ASH! You can add that to a list of upcoming interviews that includes DESTRUCTOR and MORTA SKULD! We should have some more news in a similar vein pretty soon. For those who just can't get enough sonic torment, here's an extra large edition of the Wormwood Torture Chamber! HARLOTT "Extinction" VALLENFYRE "Fear Those Who Fear Him" FEN "Winter" COLTSBLOOD "Ascending" CHROME "Techromancy" LEGIONNAIRE "Dawn of Genesis" BARATHRUM "Fanatiko" EPI-DEMIC "Malformed Conscience" CYDEMIND "Erosion" |
WORMPOST #375
 BREAK YOUR NECK AT NYDM SPRING BASH 2017! Time to once again dish the dirt on the best fest in the Midwest! Three days of old school metal mayhem in Milwaukee at the annual NYDM SPRING BASH 2017! This year we were treated to sets from OMEN, SATAN'S HOST, ATTACKER, THRUST and many more! I run down the Fest with much fidelity as I can considering the copious amounts of brew that were served! This affair is always a great social event as well. I cover the good, the bad and the inebriated right HERE and also provide many exclusive photos documenting the shenanigans! A few very interesting things may be headed our way if things work out. Will let you humanoids know soon enough! Coming up...MORTA SKULD, DESTRUCTOR, APE SHIFTER and more! This week's Torture Chamber is one of the best, packed with big names and diverse yet cutting edge styles! WARBRINGER "Woe to the Vanquished" BODY COUNT "Blood Lust" THE OBSESSED "Sacred" SKELETHAL "Of the Depths..." CRYPT ROT "Embryonic Devils" |
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