Review Summary: Overall, Book of Wyrms’ debut album is a solid recommendation for any fan of space rock and its numerous related genres.
Sci-Fi/Fantasy works a little better as a genre tag than as an album title, but either way suits Book of Wyrms well on their full-length debut. While the Richmond, Virginia-based quintet has an ingrained foundation of desert rock and stoner doom, the drawn out song lengths and free flowing tempo changes are most in line with the space rock label first bestowed upon the likes of Hawkwind and Pink Floyd. They even spice things up with the incorporation of what sounds like a theremin on several tracks.
Predictably enough, the group is mostly led by the guitar’s mix of heavy riffs and twin harmonies, but the other band members find ways to stand out. The vocals have a hazy tone to them that threatens to be drowned out by the rest of the band. Thankfully they manage to stay steady and take on a solid meditative quality on “Nightbong” and “All Hallows’ Eve.” In addition, the bass may have the most standout performance as it has a heavy presence throughout and dominates sections of songs like “Infinite Walrus” and “Sourwolf.”
While the songwriting is serviceable for most of Sci-Fi/Fantasy, the second half is where things really start to pick up. “All Hallows’ Eve” is the quirkiest track as the instrumentation gets extra spacy, the drums take on a tribal rhythm, and the vocals have an ominous character when they aren’t being countered by samples straight out of the Electric Wizard library. “Sourwolf” also manages to be an astounding closer thanks to a commanding vocal performance and a slow blues build making the most of its eleven minute runtime.
Overall, Book of Wyrms’ debut album is a solid recommendation for any fan of space rock and its numerous related genres. While the songwriting may take some time to leave a greater impression, the songs themselves and the band members’ performances have enough variety to stay entertaining. I get the feeling this album is a grower and that the band has even more ambitious things in store for the future.
Highlights:
“Nightbong”
“All Hallows’ Eve”
“Sourwolf”
Originally published at http://indymetalvault.com
