Worms of the Earth - Sekhem-A-Kheftiu

While Worms of the Earth is one of my favorite dark electronic projects in existence I always find it hard to describe the project to my friends. Dan Barrett, the solo member of the project, has moved from noisy industrial beats to martial industrial to ethnic percussion based rhythms. The simple question of "What genre is that band?" turns into a multi-faceted conversation depending on which album or EP I bring up. However, for his latest three song EP Sekhem-A-Kheftiu, Barrett is blending in elements of Industrial and EBM with Anagami era ethnic and tribal based percussion. 

It seems to me as if Barrett made this songs with clubs in mind as each song is six minutes or longer, with the longest lasting nearly ten minutes. These are not just filler songs either that a DJ could just randomly assort into their mix; these songs demand attention. I never felt a time when I was nodding off at the goa influenced sound of the title track Sekhem-A-Kheftiu or found myself wanting to skip a moment in the nine-minute and fifty-second monster that is 'Tesert Baiu'. 

The amount of genre influences present in the album give out to Barrett's trademark. I seldom find a project that can mix goa, industrial, EBM, and - at times - a degree of ambiance flavor without making it sound odd or out of place. Worms of the Earth makes it look like his genre bending sounds are easy to make - but I doubt they are. 

Though only lasting for three songs, this short burst of adrenaline comes in at nearly twenty-four minutes and can be bought for a mere three dollars. You will be getting a lot of bang for your buck when you grab this release - so get to it. 

Nov 05 2017