What SCALD unleashes upon mankind is a damn ambitious work! Hailing from Northern Ireland these gents deliver exactly one track and – to visualize – a movie (didn’t work for me). Running over 45 minutes SCALD burn down a firework of grindcore, metal, doom, acoustic passages and progressive rock, make other musicians looking pale. Not even one part gets repeated, what also means, the recognition value is low, but that’s not the point.
You better understand Vermiculatus as a soundtrack. It musically might not remind of heroes such as Neurosis or Isis, but the created atmosphere is definitely similar. This feeling gets boosted when this track turns into a pure ambient soundscape after around 30 minutes, accenting the soundtrack character. Interestingly there is a red thread kept thru the entire album, picking up the one or the other theme again.
A thrilling and versatile work, not only for die-hard fans. 9 points.