Worm emerged from the swamps of the Florida Everglades in 2012 as the one-man band of frontman Phantom Slaughter and has slowly evolved into a full touring band. The project blends genres to a degree where it attracts all measures of metal fans, as was the case when Worm made their stop at the Orpheum in Tampa. Along with the touring group, local acts Voidrium and Antacid Trip were on the bill as support.
First up was Tampa’s own Voidrium. This felt like a no-brainer addition to the bill, as Voidrium plays a fast and technical blend of imperial black metal that fits right in. I saw them play a little over a year ago, and they’ve gone through some lineup changes, but they were just as impressive as the first time I saw them. They were a great opener that set the tone for the night, but also made a mark in their own right.
Next on the lineup was Antacid Trip out of St. Pete, self-described ‘antifascist Floridian black metal punk’, which, honestly, is an apt description, as their music blends fast-tempo black metal guitar work with more punk-inspired drumming. They were super fun to watch perform as their d-beat drums got more people moving around the room. Throughout the night, the lighting was pretty frustrating from a photographer’s perspective, but it really added that layer of gloom that made the show all the more atmospheric.
The gloomy atmosphere was made all the better by the appearance of Phantom Slaughter, his goblet of blood, and his giant sword. Worm made quite the entrance, and the pageantry was backed up by absolute musical wizardry. I was pretty familiar with the band before the show, but the show took my enjoyment of the band to another level. Seeing both guitarists rip dueling guitar solos in between symphonic black metal blast beats was both extremely impressive and awesome as hell.
Everyone in the band played remarkably well, the mix on the instruments sounded great live, and the vocals were powerful and soared over the music. In typical black metal fashion, the live experience really was better than anything the band has on album, and that’s just the music. As previously mentioned, seeing the frontman beckon to the crowd with a 5-foot longsword is kind of just something you need to experience live. Slaughter drank from a blood-filled goblet, which covered his chin and neck for the rest of the show, and lit up a cigarette to make the stage even more dark and gloomy than it had already been all night.
The crowd was super into it the entire show, so much so that when the band left the stage after their last song, the crowd hung around expecting an encore that just never came. Worm is mysterious, gloomy, and ridiculously fast, but Worm answers to no god and especially no man, so don’t get greedy.
Worm ends their month-long tour in Orlando on the 28th with Pontifex and Druid Lord.
