Review: “Pillars of Eternal Dusk” by Worm Altar

A project featuring both current and former members of such household names as Come to Grief, Commuted, Shabti, Kurixis, Feral and Noir, it is written that Portland, Maine Death Metal outfit Worm Altar began life at some point in 2021, releasing a three track demo the following summer. What no one could have predicted however is how well received their 2023 debut EP “Astral Scourge” would be received, especially given how their sound is an exercise in atmosphere, physicality and dread. Mixed by Ethan Camp (Mortiferum, Mephitic Corpse) and mastered by Dan Lowndes (Ancient Death, Blood Incantation, Cerebral Rot) at Resonance Sound Studio, their debut album “Pillars of Eternal Dusk” was recorded largely live in just ten hours by Todd Hutchisen at Acadia Recording Company…

The war drums pound as something wicked this way comes “Under the Shadow of Night…” setting the tone for a Death Metal record soaked in sinister oppressive atmospheres with subtle nuances from Doom, Sludge and even Progressive forms of the genre. A potent largely low and slow instrumental cut, it feels like a warning during the opening credits of a classic horror movie. Rising from a wall of feedback the magnum opus that is “Splaying the Offal” continues the flow of blood from the veins, the band not afraid of long instrumental passages as they build atmosphere. When the vocals surface from the ocean of black, they’re as hellish as you’d expect, a collection of death growls from which the lyrics can barely be deciphered. Not that that is a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination as the throat simply becomes another implement of destruction, the graceful tempo shifts in this one part of what makes it brutally sublime over seven minutes of all out war on the cranium. A cut with a blackened edge to it “Watchers of the Gate” has a surprisingly hummable opening refrain before the vocals call from beyond the grave once more, the powerful percussive battery an essential part of what makes this well oiled machine operate. As ever the devil is in the detail and the sheer volume of nuances that rise to the surface over multiple listens is incredible, from eerie haunting moments to sounds that will make your ears bleed, this one has it all.

A lethal dose of American hatred “Virescent Fire” sounds like something you’d hear in a damp, dark, basement torture chamber hell, the venomous vocals a sandblasting for the ear drums. There is more menace to this one as the band push themselves beyond the uneasy dungeon crawl into something which feels like it crushes with the weight of ten thousand dead souls and yet doesn’t compromise on the oppressive nature of the beast. One of the shorter cuts of death, dying and the deceased is “The Blind One“, a rumbling from the black depths that registers as seismic activity while having some seriously weighty groove in the second half. Whether intentional or not, having a shorter cut before the epic almost monolithic “Dusk Eternal” helps the flow of the record remain captivating. The early Sepultura style drum patterns of the opening refrain capture the imagination before things take a darker turn, a couple of moments of lead threatening to twist and contort the track into something of epic majesty before a savage moment of thunderous bass reins that in nicely. There is a point where you might find yourself wondering just how many termites can crawl out of the woodwork but each one is such a tasty treat that by the end no one will care [7.5/10]

Track Listing

1. Under the Shadow of Night…
2. Splaying the Offal
3. Watchers of the Gate
4. Virescent Fire
5. The Blind One
6. Dusk Eternal

“Pillars of Eternal Dusk” by Worm Altar is out 16th October 2026 via Dawnbreed Records