In concept, The Worm is somewhat bizarre and hard to understand, and I'm still unwrapping what exactly what's at the heart of this album even after multiple listens. Throughout the album, we get a view of an alternate science-fiction view of Medieval England that has been taken over by The Worms after the "War of the Worms"; it sounds very odd on paper, but believe me it works. Through this fantastical lens, HMLTD are free to explore the concept of the worm, which is every bit as much of an internal obstacle as it is a physical one - lead singer and mastermind behind The Worm Henry Spychalski takes the loose interpretation of the worm itself to express feelings of isolation, although given how loose the idea of "The Worm" is with the album, just about anyone can apply their own worm to the album's concept - from depression to powerlessness, you can probably find something that fits the meld of the writhing and chaotic worm on this album. This loose world-building and conceptualism does make it somewhat hard to follow, but it works out in the album's favor, especially when the concept is so distinct and well-executed, and that's damn important for a rock opera.
Another huge boost to the album is the craftsmenship of it all. While I don't find music to be a numbers game of how many people are making it, The Worm is the culmination of exactly 47 people across two years, and you can definitely hear it in the album's layered production and musical diversity. It's certainly progressive in many senses with its expansive musical ideas, especially on moments like the expositional "Wyrmlands" or the expansive sounds of the title track on this release - the title track also shows the still existing influence on glam on the album, as does the chaotic "The End is Now". For being as expansive as it is, the album is also damn catchy, which only adds to its unique qualities. The Worm also carries a distinct heart for jazz and improvisational moments, no better seen than on the Nina Simone based "Past Life (Sinnerman's Song)", a 7-minute epic of a song that slowly climaxes across its runtime into a spectacular explosion of crashing punches and the building choir. Other moments carry influence for the avant-garde and noisy like "Saddest Worm Ever" or the aforementioned "Wyrmlands" and its aggressive walls of sound. Other moments like the spoken-word "Liverpool Street" or "Days" have a much spacier and sparse feel, leaning on post-rock for the latter and chamber music for the former. These myriad of musical influences and sounds makes for a dynamic listening experience that rarely gets boring across the album's runtime.
I think it's fairly safe to say that HMLTD have truly made a singular album this year with The Worm. It's an ambitious project by the very definition, and yet all of its ambitions are beautifully met on this release - from its creative and bizarre world to its impactful story-telling to its smörgåsbord of musical influences and genres, The Worm is a brilliantly executed concept record through and through. Rock certainly isn't a dead art by any means, but The Worm truly feels like a fresh lease of life on the seemingly bygone days of the rock opera - it's a defibrillator for the genre.
RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯
Listen to The Worm.
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