Live review / Sweden Rock Magazine
The band name perfectly encapsulates the melancholy served up by this group from Borås. I appreciate the straightforward message of the Swedish lyrics and the stripped-down nature of their performance, both sonically and visually. But wouldn’t it make sense to replace the Nemis screen with their own digital backdrop?
The rawness, however, is a trump card, along with the melancholy that permeates their entire expression. In many ways, it parallels the gravity that Wormwood weaves into their music, though here reality has been swapped for a fictional H.P. Lovecraft-inspired theme. Their latest single, “Materian & antimaterian,” seems to carry a newfound richness and a subtle bombast that I truly appreciate.
The highlight of the set, though, comes when the quartet—introduced by vocalist Klas Bohlin (Beseech)—”checks into an occult hospital.” Pure magic, and I love the sharply cutting guitar that leaves delicate emotional scars in my memory bank. “Pentagrammet” and the death-waking clock “Nekromantik” are also songs filled with memorable details.
Unfortunately, the songs suffer from a somewhat linear uniformity. Their black rock and artistic DIY darkness could truly soar with greater dynamism and more genre-stretching nuances. Think more synth elements akin to Kent’s Röd or Depeche Mode’s Black Celebration—two bands mentioned in the band’s presentation. At the same time, there’s a deliberate cohesion that scores major style points in my book. Why fix something that isn’t broken?
// Jesper Löfvenborg – Sweden Rock Magazine
Watch the entire performance on YouTube
https://youtu.be/clUmqLLw980?si=P1zFlG7grbzwb-Aa