thechopstickdrummer
A Bleeding Tree Hanging Self Destruction is a long, almost nonsensical name for an album, but Arise From Worms is a trio built on extravagant displays. Their supergroup foundation is not one to be messed with under any circumstances: Sonny Lombardozzi of Fleshtized tackles guitars and bass, Steve Tucker of Tampa’s own Morbid Angel handles vocals, Derek Sherinian tickles the electronic ivories, and Cryptopsy’s Flo Mournier mounts the drum kit. This trio founded Arise From Worms in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but only recently have they set their malicious technical sights on a full-length endeavor. And what an endeavor it was…
It came as no surprise that a lineup as experienced as Arise From Worms put forth ridiculously complicated landscapes, but I didn’t expect to audibly chuckle as frequently as I did throughout the record’s runtime. Similar to their 2022 self-titled demo tape, the band thrives on extremely repetitive material; every song reaches mind-altering levels of sonic wizardry. In thirty-five minutes, you’re sent to hell, with brimstone and fire replaced by torturous soloing and breakneck drumming. It’s a challenging listen.
No song features such blatant ludicrosity as the opener, mainly because from second one, you’re smacked with a five-minute foretelling of what the album has in store for the next thirty-five. You learn that Arise From Worms isn’t a vocal-forward entity: it relies on overwhelming prowess for harshness. Steve Tucker’s delivery doesn’t deviate from the devilish grunts of the vintage years of death metal, but they’re trivial compared to Sonny’s neoclassical craziness. At the 2:40 mark, a colorful, Avant-Prog-like guitar/drum jam nests into the track. Riffs are flying left and right, solos are noodling, drums are blasting, and all the while I’m shaking my head in disbelief. “Nine Walls” is the beginning song’s elder sibling. Completely instrumental, it crescendos in a Post-Rock-like manner into a symphonic, organ-laden climax.
I’m stumped. I can’t decide between despising this album’s unnecessary classical pedantics with all my heart and adoring just how musically proficient the result is. The record’s promotional description throws around music theory terms like “F#Lydian #2 #6” that I never bothered to learn, and this “we all know music theory so let’s jam as much of it into a Metal album as possible” attitude is both admirable and off-putting. The bookend sequence, “Persepolis,” is literally just a minute-long noodle with violins. C’mon, guys! If you saw this lineup and went in hoping for some Brutal Death Metal, you’d be more than disappointed.
Personally, I’m… not? It’s been quite a minute since I’ve had this mixed a reaction to an album post-listen. Arise From Worm’s detailed panache makes for a wildly intricate listen, and I think by doing so, I gained 400 IQ points. I could use those.
Label: Church Road Records
Release date: July 10th, 2026
Website: https://arisefromworms.bandcamp.com/album/arise-from-worms
Country: USA
Score: 3.0/5.0
Metal Eclipse Reviews 