Timeworn - Venomous High album review

Peeling back the crust to expose the slime beneath, these Nordic racket-makers’ second full length builds on the d-beat doominess that came with their 2015 debut, Luminescent Wake. Tracks like Ur Syntax and All Chiefs may reek of Mastodon’s Remission, but it’s nuanced; they’ve ripped it apart and pumped it full of proggy portions, sprinkling glacial, high-end picking over Measure Of Gold’s bastard-heavy chug. Vocalist Stian’s screams of ‘No sense of reality!’ on Black Peak Blues come across like Troy Sanders reciting The Necronomicon. Lovecraftian doomsaying isn’t exactly the height of originality either, but Timeworn’s storytelling is irresistibly fun, especially when The Infectious Gloom’s chants would surely be Pete Steele-approved were he alive today. The riffs are colossal, too, while Fredrik’s timekeeping behind the drums provides both dexterity and destruction in spades. Venomous High doesn’t bring much new to the table. It just smashes the table instead.