Wharflurch - Mycodeath and Rebirth in the Outer Clusters

Wharflurch is a death/doom metal band from Gainesville, Florida, United States who formed in 2019.  “Mycodeath and Rebirth in the Outer Clusters,” is their second full-length album; they have also released numerous EPs, splits, demos and compilations. 

I haven’t reviewed them before, but I’ve been listening to the band for a hot minute now and they are definitely one of the more unique and interesting bands in the death/doom/whatever scene.  As with their previous releases, “Mycodeath and Rebirth…” is laced with psychedelic elements and passages of pure mind-fuckery.  Their sound is equally rooted in death and doom, the band using various tempos and a dual vocal approach to give their sound way more variety and dynamics than many others in the genre.

This album really is an experience unto itself.  Sure, every song is a banger and there isn’t one bad song, but it’s better served taking this as a whole because its trippy tendencies will make you think as much as the music will also bludgeon.  There is a sci-fi store running through here somewhere; I don’t know much about it, and I’ve always had a hard time following concept stories in albums, but I do appreciate the band’s imagination.  

The production is slimy as Flordian swamps but music this sick doesn’t need happy, shiny production.  That would hurt it.  This?  The band and album thrives in this sickening, sweltering environment.  But it’s also more than that.  As brutal and dense as the music is, “Mycodeath and Rebirth…” is also expansive and other-dimensional.  This band lives in many worlds and each of them are worth exploring through this 8 song 45-minute journey. 

The album opens with the psychedelic vibes of “Death Toll Horror,” and seconds later the riffs roll over, crushing weight that gains momentum as the furious double bass paves the way for a faster paced stanza that rips through before the band settles into a groove. After the 2:40 mark, the spacey sounds shine through, lacing the death/doom with otherworldly music.  That’s what I like about this album, and the band's overall sound:  they never forget they are an extreme metal band but that doesn’t mean they can’t push its boundaries.

But the album isn’t all about nonstop crushing.  It can also be cold and dangerous, a certain detachment from reality, as presented on “Non Zero Expanse.”  There are a ton of deadly riffs, brutal vocals, and furious drums but the atmosphere is also bleak and hopeless, like seeing the cold expansiveness of space surrounding you with its infinite finality.  I love how the keys are very much present but in a way that compliments the song instead of overtaking it.  

One of the more wild, violent songs is “Heaving Orbs,” where the band really lets their sound cut loose.  The psychosis is just as loud as the death/doom and each element offering a different way to die.  The solo after the 3:30 mark twists and turns the mind while the rhythm grinds it into paste.  The last couple minutes just might send you to the psyche ward if you play it too loud.  Go ahead, do it.  

The title track ends the album with one of the better instrumentals I’ve heard this year.  It’s fun in a weird way but has a full grasp on pulling the last straws of sanity out and then putting them back in all bent and weird.  

Wharflurch’s “Mycodeath and Rebirth in the Outer Clusters,” is a brutal but imaginative amalgamation of death, doom, and some kind of drug induced fever dream.  It’s extreme in ways both expected and unexpected.  Death and doom metal both need more songwriting like this.  

Rating:  Excellent